Orrell 0 - 12 Littleborough RUFC

Dominic Kershaw - Littleborough Rugby Union

Littleborough did enough to grind out an important victory at Orrell in their chase for the league title.

All 12 of Boro's points came from the boot of the returning Dominic Kershaw as the poor conditions of the pitch and hapless management of the game by the referee prevented any real hope of a game full of free flowing rugby.

Littleborough knew that anything but a win would be catastrophic for their promotion hopes and did everything they could on a difficult afternoon in Wigan to ensure they are and still would be in command of their own destiny.

In essence there was little to say about a game that was fraught with handling errors and lack of a clinical touch.

Boro were nine ahead by half time with full back Kershaw spotless with his kicking. The first was directly in front of the posts 30 metres out, while his second and third from a similar distance were finished with aplomb from 10 metres inside the right hand touchline.

Kershaw's terrific kicking continued into the second half as he launched an enormous drop goal from 35 metres with 15 minutes to go to take the lead to two clear scores and give Boro something to hold on too.

Boro did just that and saw the game out In truth, they were never really threatened by an Orrell team short of confidence after last week's nail-biting defeat to fellow high flyers Trafford MV.

Experts and pundits from the world of sport will always say one thing about teams who go on to become champions and that is, it is a sign of a champion team when they can win ugly and get the narrow victories when they haven't been at their best or when they haven't played well and Littleborough did exactly that.