Crossfields u9's vs Pilks Recs u9's

Pilks Recs played away today at Crossfields in what was again a lot closer than the score suggests.
Before the game both sets of players, coaches and spectators observed a perfect minutes silence in memory of Jim Marshall , u10's coach at Higginshaw Eagles, who tragically passed away this week.
The game got underway with both sets of players really showing great effort in defence, with both teams struggling to make inroads and failing to score for the first five minutes of the game. Recs were unlucky though on more than one occasion, being held up over the line on three separate occasions.
Defences were definitely on top in the first half with Pilks going down 3 try's to 1, Recs try coming from a player lent to us from the opposition, after some good passing from dummy half by Keiron Williams onto Codey Massam , who fed the Crossfields player to go in down the middle..
Most impressive in the first half was some of the running onto the ball, especially from Liam Coughlin , Ross Keogh and Kyle Dancer , with some great defence from Codey Massam , Archie Parkins and Jake Abel.
Rather disappointingly though , all the hard work of the first half was wasted early in the second , with Pilks allowing Crossfields to run in quick try's after the break, eventually loosing the half 5-2.
As usual this season, once the boys fall behind , heads drop. It was really frustrating today as Recs were really in the game until the first few sets of the second half.
As was the case last week though ,Pilks showed real character late in the half , running in two late try's. The first came from Jake Abel , who once again never gave up all game , and finally got the reward his performance deserved, breaking the defence and using his speed to go in the corner.
Recs second of the half came from Logan King, who showed that when his mind is on the game he really does have bags of ability, eventually using his strength to go over for a try.
Special mentions today go to.
Codey Massam , who , again was excellent in defence and was unlucky not to score on two occasions.
Kyle Dancer, who tackled really well and was a threat with the ball.
Ross Keogh , who ran strong and took some really big hits.
Liam Coughlin , who was held up twice and ran the ball in well all game.
Archie Parkins , who captained the side today and tackled as well as ever.
Today's special awards went to.
Top Tackler:-
This was close again between Codey Massam and Archie Parkins but went to Jake Abel , who seemed to be involved in every tackle, finishing with 18 tackles in total.
Parents Choice :-
Again this was close but went to Keiron Williams , who for the second week in a row edged it with an excellent display of tackling, running with the ball, support play and dummy half work.
All in all I think we'd all agree that its been a tough first half of the season, but as it's gone on the boys are starting to show a togetherness and great team spirit that will hopefully bode well for the rest of the season.
Well done boys

KEEP IT UP !