Halbro Cup

New Brighton 2nd Comfortably Through To 3rd Round

New Brighton 2nd's moved confidently into the 3rd round of the Halbro Cup with an impressive display against a strong Rochdale side currently leading the Fairclough L.eague 1st Division. For his all round play Dan Stafford was clearly Man O' The Match though his throwing in at the line out was not quite up to par.

The Blues went into the lead half way through the first period with a good try by Vinny Dutton to be increased some 10 minutes later by Dan Stafford after some good approach work. Jim Yarranton increased the margin to 12 points to nil with a simple conversion as the game moved to half time.

Though coming under severe physical pressure from a rampant New Brighton Rochdale never gave up. They defended well and mounted some attacks of their own which in turn tested the New Brighton defence. Only good work by centres Joel Parker and back row Paul Roberts, Kenny Boyd and Dan Searle restricted them to a single converted try just before the final whistle.

In the second half Kyle Hesketh and Kenny Boyd were the scorers with Jim Yarranton converting Boyd's score.

This was a fine display by New Brighton. They worked their moves well, moving the ball wide and with backs and forwards linking effectively they well deserved this win.

Final Score: New Brighton 24 - 7 Rochdale Team Sheet: 1. Mark Dorrington, 2. Dan Stafford, 3. Anthony Probert, 4. Andy Donaldson, 5. Craig Smithson, 6. Dan Searle, 7. Kenny Boyd, 8. Paul Roberts, 9. Mike Smith, 10. Jim Yarranton, 11. Craig Wilson, 12.Joel Parker , 13. Kyle Hesketh, 14. Vinny Dutton, 15. Sean Ellis.
Substitutes: 16. Danny Hayes, 17. Ian Williams (Spence), 18. Sean Smith