Blackburn 20

Altrincham Kersal 20

DINO Radice has sounded a fresh rallying call as Blackburn prepare to lock horns with relegation rivals Widnes and Carlisle.

Last weekend’s battling draw with Altrincham Kersal gave ‘Burn some extra breathing space in their North One West survival bid.

Blackburn led 17-0, however they were forced to settle for a share of the spoils as the two sides ground out a draw in front of an appreciative Ramsgreave Road crowd.

“Altrincham’s chairman said that our play was the best he had seen from any side in this league for the first twenty minutes,” said the Blackburn coach.

“Unfortunately, we then lost Jordan Pearson and Liam Canning, both to yellow cards, and that disrupted our momentum with our big two aggressive ball players off the park.

“However, to come away with a draw in those circumstances was a reasonable result and I’m very pleased with how we’ve progressed after our win over Rochdale earlier this month.

All three of Blackburn’s rivals in distress – Carlisle, Broughton Park and Widnes - were defeated last weekend and with ‘Burn having a game on hand on two of them then their destiny is in their own hands.

“I expect us to stay up,” added Radice.

“We’ve had a tough season and it has proved a long learning curve in a new league, but there’s a great spirit in this squad and we’ve made satisfactory progress.

“We were thrashed 73-0 at Kendal last month, but that’s the only big defeat we’ve suffered this year and in the other fixtures, generally, we’ve more than matched our opponents.”

The coach added: “If we can go to Widnes next week and win, and then follow up with a victory over Carlisle then I think that could be enough to keep us in this league.”

Blackburn’s second string also enjoyed a profitable weekend, beating Wilmslow 13-10 while Burn’s Under-18 outfit defeated Preston Grasshoppers 17-7.

Radice added: “We’ve got some good talent beginning to emerge and those two results underlined just how promising they are.”

Blackburn’s remaining games: Mar 19: Widnes away; April 2 Carlisle home; April 9 Penrith away; April 16 Kendal home; April 23 Kirkby Lonsdale away; April 30 Penrith home.