Burton battle past strong Longton side

Burton Under 17`s travelled to LONGTON RFC in a Staffordshire County League Fixture.

SQUAD LIST

Benjamin, Cole, Finney, Furner, Greenwood, Handy, Higginson, Hulland, Jarrett-Broberg, Marshall, Mckendrick, Millington, Pickett, Roden, Shaw, Spray, Sturgess, Valentine, Whitehouse, Williams.

STARTING LINE-UP

1. Loose Head Prop – Josh Shaw
2. Hooker – Abe Furner
3. Tight Head Prop – Ben Higginson
4. 2nd Row – Curtis Marshall
5. 2nd Row – Ben Hulland
6. Blind Side Flanker – Ben Whitehouse
7. Open Side Flanker – Max McKendrick (Captain)
8. Number 8 – John Jarrett-Broberg
9. Scrum Half – Alex Finney
10. Fly Half – Tom Benjamin
11. Left Wing – Will Spray
12. Inside Centre – Sam Valentine
13. Outside Centre – Harry Pickett
14. Right Wing – Sheridan Cole
15. Full Back – George Roden

MATCH REPORT

After a breathtaking friendly victory in the previous week, Burton travelled to Longton looking to continue their good form.

The match started with a Longton kick off into the bright but windy conditions. The ball was held up & Burton elected for a scrum. The tight five of Josh Shaw, Abe Furner, Ben Higginson, Curtis Marshall & Ben Hulland got a massive shove on that was to dictate the standard for the day. Alex Finney fed the ball in & JJ Broberg peeled off the back to set up the first ruck. Burton piled in but play fizzled out.

Longton got their hands on ball used their big forwards to keep the ball tight. Burton were slow to react & soon found themselves going backwards. On 8 mins, Burton went in at the side & the hosts were awarded a penalty. Their kick was successful to give them a 3 – 0 lead.

Burton were shell-shocked & bemused. Longton seemed to be abit more aggressive around the pitch. Tom Benjamin was pulling the strings but the hosts had an answer each time. Will Spray had a good run down the left but again slow reaction & further off sides led to another penalty to Longton. Their kick was successful to extend the lead to 6 points.

On 34 mins, Captain Max Mckendrick & Ben Whitehouse combined to drive the hosts out into touch. From the resulting lineout, midway in the Longton half, JJ broke free, off-loaded to Sam Valentine whom raced down the left to within 10 before he got tackled. On hand was Harry Pickett to touch down under the posts. Valentine then slotted the conversion to give Burton an undeserved first half lead. Longton 6 – 7 Burton.

LONGTON 6
BURTON 7 (Try – Pickett, Con – Valentine)

The 2nd half begun with Burton kicking off. Longton came back strong & ran straight until Cameron Handy used his towering frame to halt the attack. Longton chose to kick it down field but awaiting was George Roden who caught the high ball & ran it back. Lewis Sturgess then picked & go taking 3 defenders with him before being hauled down. Josh Greenwood, playing his first game of the season took it to just outside the 22 before Max Williams spotted a gap & darted over for a well-worked try. Valentine was again successful with his kick.

Burton were now very much on top. Taylor Millington made a break down the right & passed to Sheridan Cole who raced off only to be stopped by a high tackle when in full flow. 3 phases from the penalty, Finney dummied & darted over for a opportunist try under the posts to cement victory on 64 mins. Valentine kicked his 3rd of the day.

With time running down Adam Dolman got straight into the action & made an impact to ensure the final score remained Longton 6 – 21 Burton on the final whistle

LONGTON 6
BURTON 21 (Tries – Pickett, Williams, Finney Con – Valentine x3)