Thatto Heath Crusaders 21

Crosfields 8 THE scoreline was a little flattering, but Heath were worthy winners of this bruising National Conference top-of-the-table clash.

Defences were on top for the first 30 minutesand the only scores came from stand-off Barry Ashall, who landed a neat one-pointer on four minutes, and a penalty by winger Andy Holroyd on nine minutes after Heath had conceded a penalty for a high tackle.

The 'soapmen' were reduced to 12 men on the quarter when centre Mike Redmond was sin-binned for punching but Heath could not capitalise on this as Crosfields' defence held firm.

It took a piece of individualism from centre Anthony Marsh to finally break the Warrington men. With players in support either side of him, he took on the defence himself to touch down left of the posts. Full-back Wayne Jackman, kicked the easy two.

Five minutes later, Crosfields were back in the hunt after a penalty for offside gave Holroyd another gift of two points.

Jackman opened the second half scoring with a penalty in the first minute after Crosfields had kicked out in the tackle.

Stand-off Barry Ashall continued to try hard to break down Crosfield's resilience with his little half breaks and probing kicks but to no avail.

On 15 minutes, quick thinking by right wing Phil Glover put Crosfields on the back foot as he took a quick tap just inside Crosfields' half and set off on a jinking run. A quick play-the-ball and fast hands across the park saw opposite wing, Mike Woods score out wide. Jackman landed a fine conversion to take his goal tally to three. The Warrington men then pressured Heath's line and were rewarded with a well deserved try from ex-pro Andy Pucill who along side fellow prop Russ Mellor had worked hard all afternoon.

Marsh sealed the victory for Heath, midway through the second half, with his second try following another great Ashall break down the right. Jackman completed the scoring with the extra two.

The Marple man of the match award went to Ashall with Jackman and second row Geoff Williams also turning in fine performances.

Heath face another stern test next week away to in-form Hull Dockers the coach leaves the Springfield at 10.15am.

Leigh East Under 16s 14

Crusaders 20

Crusaders cruised into a 14-nil lead in as many minutes in this National Youth Premiership clash. But they took their foot off the gas and allowed East to level the game at 14-14 until Keiron Maddocks crossed over in the final minutes. Carl Forber kicked two goals following two fine Gaz Bowes tries and a third from Lee Pennington. East struggled to contain man-of-the-match Carl Forber, who was ably supported by fellow half-back Kevin Brown. Crusaders under 15s 20

Wigan St Cuthberts 4

Crusaders' forwards paved the way for this victory with strong running second row and man-of-the-match Mark Beech leading the charge. Crusaders' tries came from full-back Mike Roby (2) winger Adam Lawrenson and scrum-half David Hull and loose-forward Shaun Terry capping a fine performance with a penalty and a conversion. Lee Burrows, Danny Parkinson and Johnny Knowles all had big games.

Crusaders under 13s 8

Widnes Moorfield 16

A lapse in concentration allowed Moorfield to seal the game in the final minutes. Both Crusaders' tries came from David Roughley who was outstanding. Man of the match was Ryan Scott , while Carl Lucas' ball skills were excellent and Tony Owen's tackling was exemplary. Crusaders under 12s 14

Chorley Raiders 6

Thatto Heath worked hard to break down Chorley's determined defence in this closely fought match. Points for Crusaders came from Jamie Pennington (try), Adam Walsh (try), Alex McClurg (try). Danny Chantler added a goal. Comhoist Crane Hire man of the match was John Paul Haggerty, Craig Dearden was top tackler and Jon Kerr and Chris Hill also impressed to earn coaches awards.

Pilks under 11s 24 Crusaders 24

Crusaders continued to impress with another fine team performance against a strong Pilks side. In a game in which the scores were close throughout, tries came from Daniel Kenny, Antony Harden, Shaun Forber and Tom Crough with conversions from Ste Barton, Martin Davies, Antony Harden and Dave Brownbill. Man of the match was Tom Crouch, coaches award winner Shaun Forber, Ryan Hannan and top tacklers Andrew Morris and Chima Maxwell.

Crusaders under eights 36 Chorley 8

Man of the match sponsored by Just the Job was Luke Waring. Top tackler Liam Fishwick (3 tries), coaches award Danny Glover and Danny Riley, most improved Luke Longworth and Shane Blackburn. Ken Smith, Ryan Smith and John Fisher also got on the scoresheet.

Crusaders under sevens 8

Pilks Recs 8

In this closely fought local derby, man of the match sponsored by M6 Trailers, was Ben Tatlock (try), top tackler Lewis Foster, coaches award Ben Etchells and most improved Lee Southward. Zoe Harris also got on the scoresheet.