Colne and Nelson 27

Preston Grasshoppers 4ths 13

Saturday saw Preston Grasshoppers make the trip over to Holt House. Typical East Lancashire weather saw a gentle breeze and light rain greet the visitors. A strong start by Colne saw them almost score in the first 2 minutes but Preston were awarded a penalty just short of the try line.

The 15th minute then saw Preston score a try which was duly converted. This seemed to kick start Colne back into action and some strong work by the forwards in the 25th minute saw them gain territory in the Preston half which allowed Nick Bullock to force his way over the line. Kick not converted leaving the score 7 to 5 in Preston’s favour.

5 minutes later further strong pressure by Colne saw Anthony Minshall crash his way over the Preston try line in the far corner. Again kick not converted due in no small part to the light wind wafting over the playing field.

A further 5 minutes play saw Colne win the ball at the lineout in the Preston twenty two. A strong running maul saw Colne keep possession of the ball and this allowed Dean Edwards to power his way over the line. Again the kick was not converted and that left the score at half time Colne 15 Preston 7.

Some poor discipline in the first ten minutes of the second half saw Colne give away 2 penalties, both of which were converted by Preston taking the score to 15 points against 13. The score remained the same for the next 20 minutes with both sides finding it difficult to keep hold of the ball in worsening conditions. Credit must go to the Colne defence in this period as they fought off some good attacks by Preston and allowed Colne to maintain their slim lead.

In the 70th minute some strong work by the Colne forwards saw them make good progress up the field and some quick hands saw Kyle Hargreaves drop over the white line to increase the Colne tally to 20 points, kick not converted.

2 minutes later a superb solo run from the half way line saw the deceptively fast Connor Kinnane breeze past a bewildered Preston defence and drop the pill directly under the sticks. No mistake on the conversion this time with Jordan Cardwell slotting the ball neatly between the posts leaving the score 27 points to 13.

This is how the game ended and credit to both sides for a thoroughly entertaining, hard fought and fairly played match in some quite awful conditions.

This was another tough and gritty performance from an ever improving Colne side. Some great individual contributions but more importantly a solid and united team effort from everybody involved in the game.

Stop Press !! Today’s win takes up to 3rd place in the league but in reality we are actually joint second on points. A fantastic start to the season.