Orrell St James 46-16 Heysham Atoms

Two tries were scored in the first five minutes – one for either side – as Orrell hit a blind side try on a last tackle play as the Atoms clocked off waiting for the kick.

The Atoms responded straight from the kick-off as Jake Harrison reclaimed the ball and the Atoms worked their way to Orrell’s line.

Liam Hall rolled out of the tackle to score the Atoms’ first which Billy Livingstone converted.

The Atoms’ narrow side was again targeted and Orrell’s strong running centre barged in at the corner.

For the second time the Atoms response was swift with loose forward Mark Walker making a strong run into the heart of the Orrell defenders.

He managed to get his arms loose in the tackle and produced an excellent offload to Harrison who forced his way over the line.

Orrell continued to pepper the Atoms’ right defence and in the 27th minute they regained the lead which they never relinquished.

Orrell’s centre again did the damage with his passage to the try line being made easier with some weak 
Atoms tackling. On the 35 minute mark came the pivotal moment as the game swung fully in Orrell’s favour.

With the Atoms on the attack deep in Orrell’s territory they elected to kick from the acting half back position which was gobbled up by the Orrell defender.

They swept play up field at pace scoring to the right of the sticks.

Error followed error and the Atoms sent the kick-off straight out on the full which invited pressure straight back onto the Atoms line. The defence again wasn’t up to it and Orrell moved away at the break, leading 24 points to 10.

The Atoms tried to regroup at half-time but their confidence took another pounding as they dropped the ball straight from the kick-off then to compound matters they missed a one-on-one tackle directly from the scrum gifting Orrell another easy six-pointer.

The Atoms then entered a period of hardly seeing any possession and conceded three further scores with a quarter of the game to go.

However, the Atoms dug deep with Dialon Hernandez tackling himself to a standstill and Olly Murray continuing to drive his side forward, putting a little pride back into the performance.

Michael Forrest finally broke the shackles and made a 40-yard break down the middle of the park. Livingstone jumped from the hooker position, twisting out of the tackle to score the Atoms’ third try of the game.