NLD Shield ¼ final Nottingham Casuals 10 Glossop 29

10 November 2012

NLD Shield ¼ final

Nottingham Casuals 10 Glossop 29

Casuals came a cropper against old foe Glossop in the ¼ finals of the NLD Shield.

Glossop who are now playing in South Lancs/Cheshire division , currently in fifth place, showed why they are where they are.

Glossop had to work hard for their win, as Casuals kept thwarting their attacks, but Glossop forwards were given to much room to run in, which forced Casuals into some rearguard tackling.

Casuals were especially grateful to full back Ben Hallam, returning from his honeymoon, for his last ditch tackles, ably abetted by Brodie Howatson.

Casuals had the majority of the possession for the first five minutes, but Glossop stole the ball from a lineout to set up a long range attack, which eventually led to a converted try.

Casuals responded immediately from the kick off, winning possession, the ball went to Brodie Howatson, who sprinted down the wing, sidestepping the cover, to touchdown wide out.

Unfortunately, Glossop came straight back to stretch their lead .

Casuals put Glossop under pressure for a period, but once again the visitors made a huge break from their half, resulting in a scrum 5 metres out, which was driven over for the third try.

Glossop added a penalty to establish a score of 5 – 22 at half time.

The second half was more evenly contested, but when a Casuals player was yellow carded , Casuals had endure some pressure, before Glossop managed to get an ovelap to go in for a converted try.

Casuals had the last word, but it was little consolation.

They attacked from midfield, and as the attack drifted to the left, Steve Naylor was put clear, to crash in for the try.

Casuals significantly changed their line up in the backs for this game, and it was an experiment that worked.
Joe Elderkin made his first start in the front row, a bit of a baptism, but showed he was up to the challenge.

Barny Ward started at outside half, and he a gave good account of himself, keeping the ball in hand, setting the backs in motion on a number of occasions. (Hopefully he will be fit for next week)

They seemed to revel in the amount of possession they got, and showed what a force they can be.