Knutsford fall to another defeat after Moore rally

KNUTSFORD could not complete a double over Moore after their guests rallied to extend a winning run to 10 matches.

In contrast, Blues will be glad to see the back of January after losing all four North West Intermediate League Division Three South fixtures since the turn of the year.

The hosts’ rhythm was disrupted by lapses in concentration that prompted errors although they were dominant in the scrum and held their own at lineouts.

Matt Bradshaw landed an early penalty to put the Warrington-based outfit in front but find hands by the home team saw them score twice in quick succession.

For one of those, decisive lines run by full-back Alex Malcolm and Chris Isherwood led to a try for Knutsford in the corner.

Howard Dunkerley and Jim Southall applied pressure to the Moore defence with forward bursts of their own before Moore switched to comeback mode.

Mike Barr broke through to initiate a move that ended with Sam Craven crossing, closing a gap on the scoreboard to 10-8 at the interval.

Knutsford’s defence, marshalled expertly by scrum-half Adam Ellary, held firm for the most part before discipline started to wane and they conceded a string of penalties.

Jack Harvey clinched victory for the visitors with 10 minutes left.

It leaves Knutsford seventh in the standings before they return to action at Carrington on Saturday, February 9, kick-off 2.15pm.

“That gives us time to work on one or two things,” said player-coach Chris Edmonds.