Heysham Atoms 36-22 Rylands Sharks

Atoms came under some earlier pressure but from a scrum 20 metres from the Atoms line dangerous running centre Jack Edmondson broke clear and outpaced the cover to give the Atoms a score against the run of play.

With defences well on top Atoms’ second rower Andrew Collins provided the cutting edge with his arcing runs getting him on the outside shoulder of the Ryland’s defenders and providing some much needed quicker ball, along with the lively Callum Hall.

A 40 yard Collins break only came to an end when he lost his footing with only the full back to beat. From the resulting scrum the Atoms employed a planned move whereby Walker and Helme combined down the narrow side to put winger Jack Lawton away who finished off the move by the corner flag.

As the break approached on this cagey first period it was Jack Edmondson who deservedly scored his second, breaking tackles and stumbling his way over the line for a 14-0 half time lead.

From the restart the Atoms had to dig deep again and defend their line for a substantial amount of time. For the second time in the contest the Atoms’ scrambling defence was outstanding as Rylands threw everything at them.

Collins was again the man to relieve the pressure, making a break down the left channel then cutting infield and finding Walker with a pass who in turn tipped on to Stuart Lacey who shot over the line.

Lacey added his second shortly after when he picked up a loose pass and skirted down the right touch line and then side stepping the full back who was covering across and giving the Atoms a healthy 24-0 lead.

The Atoms again fell into the trap of thinking their work was done for the afternoon but Rylands made them pay. The next three scores were all from the Warrington outfit as they started to open up and cause the Atoms some real problems.

At 24-16 it called for the captain to return to the action and restore a bit of calm to proceedings. Liam Hall with his first touch in his second spell smashed his way over from close range.

Michael Forrest again had a game full of balanced, destructive running. He broke from an Atoms scrum 20 metres from his own line and his acceleration allowed him the the comfort of easing up as he went over the line.

The plucky Rylands side were still full of attacking intent right until the final whistle and were rewarded for their efforts with a try wide out on their left on the last play of the game.