MATCH REPORT -  30th September 2006 - Vagabonds v Oldershaw 29 - 19  

It was a must win situation for Skanco Vagabonds as they played host to Oldershaw in their Total Oil sponsored fixture on Saturday, and thanks to a dominant first half were able to give their supporters something to cheer about at last. Having lost their opening three games in Euromanx South Lancs/Cheshire division one against the top three teams in the league, this result has the desired effect of lifting them off bottom place.

The game started badly for the Manx team as they failed to catch a speculative kick ahead by Oldershaw in the opening minute. The ball bounced kindly for the visitors, and Roberts on the right wing gratefully collected it and raced in from 40 yards to touch down under the posts. Stand off Molloy added the easy conversion.

Vagabonds were in no mood to capitulate and their forwards took control, dominating their opponents and frequently stealing possession. The Cheshire side defended well for a while, but on the quarter hour the home side won a set scrum in front of the posts. Full back Jay Kruger came into the line at pace, broke through the defence and homed in on the corner to score an unconverted try near the flag. Within minutes Vagabonds took the lead after the visitors were caught offside at a line out, Beckley making no mistake with the resulting penalty.

Vagabonds went further ahead on the half hour after Kevin Riley collected a quick throw in and drove up field. The ball was spun out to the backs and a ruck set up. The re-cycled possession was fed to Kruger, and passed on to Gericke Scheurkogel who scrambled over the whitewash to score near the posts. Beckley converted. A further score followed swiftly when Riley, having a monumental game broke from a maul down the narrow side and slipped a pass to Rob Pease as he arrived at pace. The winger ran round the covering defence and closed in on the posts to score a superbly worked try from 30 yards. Again Beckley added he conversion points.

The Manx side swiftly extended their lead as Pease collected a perfectly weighted kick from Beckley . He lost possession in the tackle, but it was immediately regained as the forwards arrived at the breakdown en masse. Kruger again timed his entry into the back line well, gathered the ball and scored by the posts, providing Beckley with another simple conversion.

In the dying moments of the half Oldershaw kicked the ball ahead and into Vagabonds try area. Outside centre Hoffman won the race for the ball to touchdown wide on the right for an unconverted try. The sides changed ends with Vagabonds comfortably in the lead at 29-12.

The spectators could have been excused for thinking they were watching a different game in the second half. Oldershaws forwards decided to show their mettle, and for a while pinned the home side into their own half. They were not able to sustain the pressure, but at least now they were containing the Glencrutchery Road pack. Indeed, the home pack should have driven over the opposition try line on two occasions, but were held up by stoic defence. No score was added by either side until 25 minutes into the half when the visitors drove over from a penalty to score under the posts. Molloy added the conversion to leave the final score Vagabonds 29 Oldershaw19

It is difficult to fathom what changed for Vagabonds in the second half. The wind was now against them, but not strong enough to cause problems. The forwards were well balanced, with a fast and effective back row supported well by the second row pair of Riley and Bowden. The substitution of Paul Fleming by Ewald Kilian did not weaken the three quarter line. They just lost momentum, and the steely will needed to twist the knife once the point has been driven home. Still, it was a welcome victory and a well needed fillip to the coaching team who will be justifiably encouraged by the tremendous first half performance.

Match photos courtesy of IOM Newspapers © :