Vale of Lune continue winning ways against Glossop

Match report: Vale of Lune 15 Glossop 9

The first Vale home game in six weeks was in doubt due to the risk of a soaked pitch.

However, the elements subsided sufficiently for the game to take place, although the weather would not take the insult.

It was cold, wet and windy but that didn’t dampen the spirits and enthusiasm of the Derbyshire players, fans and visitors.

After scoring a convincing win against The Vale in October, Glossop may have predicted a similar outcome. The valley had other ideas.

With the commanding momentum of a nice away win last week, the home side took control after the whistle and squeezed their lead into Glossop’s 22-metre box. Persistence, safe handling and fast passing led to an attempt by Sam Peters in the right corner. It was too far for Chris Ramwell to find the posts, but the marker had been placed on purpose.

Glossop came back strong and held his own pressure for a while. Their player/coach Liam Mc Govern took a penalty to open their account and after the rain came and made the ball difficult to handle, McGovern added another three-pointer to give the visitors a narrow lead.

The sun appeared briefly and, like solar panels, powered the valley. Probing runs from Jordan Fern and Billy Swarbrick showed the way through, eventually giving Ramwell another try at the post. He pushed it home and the Valley retook the lead.

Front row reshuffles appear to be an integral part of Vale’s strategy. Joe Stevens made way for promising youngster James Bonia, who made six crunching, defensive tackles in his opening two minutes to keep the Glossop pack at bay. Halftime came when the Vale led by eight points to six.

Forwards Alfie Bolton and Tim Nicholson combined in the easy exchanges to repeatedly put Glossop behind.

The scrums were too difficult to handle and the referee’s patience ran out for the glossop pack. A sinful order for number four Glossop gave Vale a numerical advantage that allowed center Olly Jacques to tease the defense before shooting through to hit under the post.

Ramwell’s boot added another two points for a nine-point lead in the final quarter of the game. Tempers flared and some unsightly expressions of frustration ensued. The “Fellow in Yellow” regained control and another Glossop man made his way for ten minutes.

Vale’s co-captain Harry Fellows, an absolute crowd favourite, came off the bench to return to action after 10 weeks out through injury. The tenacious Harrison Dodge replaced Sam Peters on the right wing. These changes were obviously tactical in nature and were not caused by player complaints.

Glossop managed a consolation penalty in the last few seconds, but it didn’t affect the scoring in the league. The Vale has produced worthy winners, and that winning momentum only grows stronger. Man of the match was winger-turned flanker Alfie Bolton, who was involved in every positive aspect of Vale’s performance.

Team: Pillow R, Branford O, Stevens J, Harrison J, Nicholson T, Powers A, Ayrton J, Bolton A, Swarbrick B, Chadwick H, Fern J, Jacques O. C Ramwell, S Peters, B Walker. Representatives: J. Bonia, H. Fellows, H. Dodge.