Matlock edge to victory against basement side

Matlock 27 Coalville 25
Nick Coombes tries to escape the clutches of a Coalville opponentNick Coombes tries to escape the clutches of a Coalville opponent
Nick Coombes tries to escape the clutches of a Coalville opponent

Matlock secured a crucial win against bottom-of-the-table Coalville at Cromford Meadows on Saturday.

With several big first-team faces missing, including James Young and Scott Robinson, Matlock brought in both Rice brothers and James Fairclough who wore the number ten jersey.

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A good start from the kick-off for Matlock saw them retain the early possession and make hard yards towards the Coalville line, but good defending in the early attacks stopped Matlock from getting early points on the board.

After 13 minutes the first try came for Matlock in the form of Henri Packard feeding Ben Neville to power over through the last man to score in the corner.

From the re-start it was very much the same from Matlock, as good possession and recycling led to more chances - Packard again giving the old show and go to two defenders before offloading to the supporting Jack Wagg to score in the corner.

Tom Morton had a difficult kick from out wide but slotted it over from nearly 60 yards.

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Matlock continued to dominate the possession for the remainder of the half with another powerful try from the storming centre Neville and the fleet-footed Wagg.

The second-half was once again a poor effort for Matlock as they struggled to get going and Coalville took advantage of that fact, coming to within two points of them before the end of the game, but Matlock held on to take the victory.

Matlock now look forward to a week off followed by a clash with local rivals Derby who fly high in second place.

As there is still a chance Matlock can fight on to the end in Midlands One and keep in the league it should be a thrilling game at Hasland Rd.

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