Aldridge end season with a win

Aldridge completed their league programme with a flourish with this comfortable victory over Whittington. It was the home side that got the best start though, with a fine individual effort which had its origins within the skirmishes following on from the initial kick off. Whittington moved the ball swiftly to No10 Paddy Hobson who ran clean through the Aldridge defensive line up and then sprinted clear to touch down between the posts. He also converted. And that, apart from a brief flurry of forward pressure just prior to half-time, was the only time they threatened throughout the match. The Aldridge forwards recovered quickly from this initial set-back and slowly gained the ascendancy and with the amount of possession that this produced, scores became inevitable. Aldridge full-back Alex Yates opened proceedings with a couple of long range penalties and No8 Chris Balmforth squeezed into the corner – also converted by Yates who some 10 minutes later added a try of his own to make it 18 – 7 at the break.

It was all one-way traffic in the second half and although the home side stuck to their task, injuries meant that it became increasingly difficult for them to resist the relentless pressure that they were put under. Lock Eddie O’Neill and No10 Adam Reed bagged themselves a brace of tries apiece and Balmorth also grabbed a second. Three more Yates conversions made the final tally: - Whittington 7 – Aldridge 49.

Jim Chambers