Normanton 31 – 4 Mayfield

Mayfield came down to earth with a bump on Saturday as they crashed out of the Conference Challenge Cup after being handed a lesson in how to win a game. Missing eight first team regulars Mayfield still fielded what on paper looked like a strong side, and when Nick Hargreaves scored in the corner it looked like this was going to be another victory for the Rochdale lads.

Normanton had other ideas as they out-gunned their visitors in every department. It took ten minutes for the home side to get on the scoreboard after a series of missed tackles allowed them in for a soft try.

Mayfield tried throughout the first half to gain some sort of grip on the game but it never happened, with at least two players dropping the ball on the final pass with the line begging.

With a 14 – 4 half time score they were still in with a shout and their supporters felt it was just a matter of time until they clicked into gear, but a gutsy performance from Normanton knocked them off their stride every time they attempted to get back in the game.

There were some decent individual efforts with Todd O’Brien as usual running himself into the ground but this was not Mayfield’s day.

One of the few positives to come out of the game was the debut of Luke Hartley, son of Wayne Hartley. Luke put in a decent shift not putting a foot wrong while he was on the pitch.

Also impressive was Billy Percy who again ran like train and made countless tackles.

Pushing O’Brien for the Man-of-the-Match was full back Ieuan Higgs who made at least two try saving tackles keeping the score down for the side.

A final score of 31 – 4 was a fair reflection of the game and reflected Mayfield’s poorest performance of the season.

This Friday (11 July) sees Mayfield take on Eccles in an NCL Division One game. Eccles are in the bottom half of the table but have sprung a few surprises on their hosts in the past. There should be returns for four or five of the missing players from last week and Mayfield will be sure of putting on a better performance than they did at Normanton.

A win on Friday will see Mayfield another step closer to achieving their ultimate goal for the season, promotion to the premier division.

Fixtures: 11.07.14
NCL Div1 Mayfield v Eccles ko 7.30