Vale Excel in Cup Tie

The NW2 league is over, but the Papa John's Cup is just getting started. It was a chilly and showery afternoon at Powder House Lane, as the Vale welcomed old foes Aspatria from the wild west of Cumbria. A new competition brought new faces into the Vale lineup. The three first team debutantes were: prop Duncan Ryan, flanker Tom Miller and winger Nathan Allen. A proud moment for them all, as is the one hundredth first team appearance for Adam Foxcroft.

Early passages of play saw some purposeful ball carrying in midfield with Aspatria being denied any possession for long periods. This took play into the away side's half and resulted in a deserved try for back-row man Eddie Abdelghafar. Scoreboard master, Big Les could have been forgiven for nodding off for the next twenty-five minutes as neither side reached their intended try line. On the stroke of half time, Aspatria found a chink in the Vale's defence and claimed a 5 -7 lead with a converted try.

The second half brought some changes of personnel. Duncan Ryan, Josh Sutcliffe and Joe Wallbank came on in the pack, and Kieron Pickup and Nathan Allen bolstered the backs. The results were instant. Concerted forward pressure presented Jack Batty with his chance to score to the right of the posts. Damon Hall duly converted to reclaim the lead.

Play shifted as a big Aspatria prop blasted his way through to score and temporarily inhibit the Vale's onslaught. Hall engineered the next strike with a high, cross-field kick into the hands of Hayden Mills who was clean through until a desperate, high tackle stopped him on the line. A penalty try was awarded and the Aspatria man went off for a breather.

Tries came thick and fast for the rampant Vale. George Oyston clearly enjoyed his triumph, following sterling preparatory work by James Hesketh. Damon Hall performed a solo chip/chase/dribble & score manoeuvre for his try. The final two touchdowns came from debut man Nathan Allen, with both converted by Hall. The Cumbrians, to their credit, pressed for the line even though the result was already beyond them. They spun a string of passes out to the winger to finish in the left corner.

With the first round of the Papa John's cup under their belt, the Vale's season rolls on to new territory. Round two sees the squad travel up to Morpeth near Newcastle, a club not visited by the Vale since a Trojans touring side played there in 1992.

Congratulations are due to Vale's young stars Eddie Abdelghafar and Archie Fowler, who have been selected for Lancashire U.20s side at Bolton RUFC. Lancashire Royals have called up: Joe Wallbank, Joe Harrison, Alfie Bolton, Chris Ramwell and Jordan Fern to their squad. Seven senior Vale players at County level is a good reason for optimism.

Team: A. Fowler, J. Hesketh, G. Oyston, A. Foxcroft, H. Fellows, T. Miller, E. Abdelghafar, J. Ayrton (c) , J. Batty, D. Hall, J. Fern, C. Ramwell, A. Bolton, T. Bell. Reps: D. Ryan, J. Sutcliffe, K. Pickup, N. Allen, J. Wallbank.

(Photo: by Thomas Bradburn, shows Harry Fellows in action against Aspatria.)