Ashton-Under-Lyne 22 Chorley RUFC 5

Chorley began the match playing into a strong wind and were pinned back in their own half by Ashton.

But try as they might Ashton couldn't break down a strong defence with Chorley launching several counter attacks from within their own half.

Unable to kick the ball effectively, Chorley resorted to running the ball, showing some controlled, disciplined rugby.

But Ashton's territorial advantage eventually paid off in the 25th minute, winning a line-out ball from 10 meters out and running the ball over the line. The try was converted for a 7-0 lead.

A penalty kick extended Ashton's lead to 10-0 at half-time.

At the start of the second half Chorley were confident they could overturn the lead with the wind behind them. But Ashton had other ideas driving at the heart of the Chorley defence.

Some strong, direct play led to a converted try for the home side after 55 minutes stretching their lead to 17-0.

Ten minutes later Chorley thought they had scored, only for the try to be denied by the referee.

But soon after, Chorley did get on the scoresheet when Faulkner drove through the despairing Ashton defence following some good work from captain Steve Goodman. A missed conversion made the score 17-5.

Chorley became increasingly frustrated as time ran out and to rub salt in their wounds with five minutes to go Ashton broke free from the half-way line to score a try on the wing. Final score 22-5.

Despite the loss, coach Martin Peacock said: "I was proud of the Chorley performance. We are confident we can win our next two crucial matches."

Next week Chorley take on Old Bedians at home - kick off at 2.30pm.

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