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 Blackpool 22 RUNCORN RLC 24 - May 25, 2009, 06:50:53 PM RUNCORN bagged their first win under new boss Rob Calland as they edged past Blackpool in a Bank Holiday thriller on the coast. The greens preparation for the game was hampered due to a road traffic collision on the M6 and M55 which forced the kick off to be delayed while the emergency services cleaned up the wreckage, but the Halton club put that to one side and managed to take the points. They were still on the bus, however, after 10 minutes as Blackpool ran in two tries in quick succession but Runcorn bounced back in scorching fashion, zipping over for a double from Elwell on his debut and Patterson to level it at 12-12. Runcorn should have kicked on from that point but they were dragged down by mistakes and penalties which contributed to some decent pressure from Blackpool which Runcorn had to absorb. But just before the break Runcorn got their noses in front from Ryan also on his debut. Just after the break, Runcorn turned up the heat when evergreen hooker and MOM John Lepts darted over from 60 yards, and as the saying goes, there is no substitue for pace. Jamie Edge, Jason Green and Lee Forshaw once again led the charge with skipper Dave Patterson in superb form with the boot. Runcorn were 24-10 up but they took their foot off the gas towards the end of the game, failing to spread the ball wide to their pacey dangermen on the flanks, and some errors around the ruck led to Blackpool notching quick fire tries. Some of Runcorn's experienced players closed the game out with Patterson's proving to be the clincher. Calland said: "To come all the way up here with a thread bare squad and get the points is a big achievment for us. We had a lot of young lads out there and they all did remarkably well against a team of players who were very experienced and had obvioulsy been playing rugby league in the winter. "Our preparation wasn't great but we showed immense character to come back the way we did. We let them back into it at the end but the game was never in doubt - we were always going to close a game out with the men we had out on the park." Runcorn face the early pace setters Wigan Riversiders on Saturday at Pavillions 2.30pm kick off. RUNCORN: S. Bell, P. Dempsey, S. Vowles, I. Cheveau, K. McGreevey, D. Patterson (1T 4C), J. Edge, L. Forshaw, J. Lepts (1T MOM), A. Elwell (1T), J. Green, P. Dean, M.Ryan (1T) SUBS N. Street, S. Dwyer, C. Cunningham Runcorn MOM 1. J.Lepts, 2. M. Ryan, 3. A. Elwell  Printer Friendly Version  |
      
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