Vale of Lune deliver performance to do late club legend 'Scoop' proud

Match Report: Vale of Lune 22 Crewe and Nantwich 10

Despite the sunshine, a shadow hung over Powder House Lane.

The breaking news of the passing of a Vale cornerstone brought acute sadness to the day, but that could never have been what past president Stuart 'Scoop' Vernon would ever have wanted.

For over 50 years, he generated positivity and optimism into every element of the Vale of Lune.

In the gloomy grip of his ultimate departure, the Vale first team delivered a performance that Scoop would have been delighted with.

Early clashes established the ground rules for this match. Recent fixtures have gone the way of the Cheshire set, but the Vale had a few aces up their sleeve. With Damon Hall, Harry Fellows and Andy Powers restored to the lineup, confidence was high.

That manifest itself in sharp passing and good use of an overlap in the back line. Full back Henry Clifton finished with flair in the right corner. 

Crewe and Nantwich replied with a penalty kick, but were unable to threaten the Vale try-line.

Clever lineout trickery between Powers and Wallbank gained valuable territory, and C&N had to work hard in defence to contain the threat.

The Vale forwards also applied their lineout/driving maul tactic to good effect, coming up short but not distracted from the overall gameplan.

Eventually, under continued pressure, the C&N stand-off perpetrated an illegal impediment to the Vale onslaught, and was sent to the bench for a short sabbatical.

The resulting advantage gave Damon Hall the space to strike, as he darted clear of two hapless C&N tacklers to score. Hall was also pivotal in their third try, gathering a bobbling ball in the C&N five metre area to pop it up to winger Alfie Bolton to finish.

With the halftime score at to 17-3 to the Vale, some strategic adjustments were made to the lineup. Hall continued to torment the Cheshire men with a fourth try, bringing a bonus league point, to the right corner.

Once restored to full capacity, the visitors came back strongly. They probed repeatedly, until a ray of light appeared to allow their centre to register their first and only try. 

The Vale had work to do in the set scrums but in open play, their big props made their power count. Fowler and Mount made the hard yards, and despite relentless bombardment from a team desperate to at least come away with a bonus point for a near score, they held out with grit and determination.

Under siege in their own 22 metre area, the Vale adopted trench warfare to deny their visitors that consolation benefit. 

The final whistle brought a roar of joy from the crowd, a brief respite from their overriding sense of loss from the sad news of the day.

That one was for you, Scoop.

Next week sees a trip over the Irish Sea for the NW2 fixture at Douglas I.O.M. Kick off at 3pm. 

Team:   A. Fowler, A. Powers, M. Mount, H. Fellows, J. Wallbank, S. Morgan, J. Ayrton, M .Goodman, J. Fern, J. Silverwood, H. Dodge, D. Hall, C. Ramwell. A. Bolton, H. Clifton.     Reps: G. Oyston, H. Dokter, I. Turton.