Heaton Moor Senior Colts 12-12 Altrincham Kersal
Nick Tenney kicked a last-gasp conversion to earn Heaton Moor a draw in a pulsating game of rugby with Altrincham Kersal.
Both sides made light of the damp conditions in a tremendous battle played in terrific spirit.
Kersal made the early running, Moor camped in their own 22 for pretty much the first quarter and were happy to only concede the one score.
Kersal’s try was the result of a brilliant rolling maul which started a long way from the scoring zone after just ten minutes.
But slowly the home team got to grips and were well rewarded with a great try started and finished by hooker Jake Barrett.
Barrett initially picked up loose ball from a ruck in midfield and after several phases, touched down for his first score of the season.
The second half followed the same pattern, some of the defence and tackling by both teams quite a spectacle.
James Bellis and Shane Ennis were outstanding up front, tackling everything that moved in an Altrincham shirt.
The first 25 minutes of the half were scoreless but that was purely down to the fact that it was a cracking battle between two ferocious sides.
Ten minutes from the end it looked like Kersal had taken the spoils. Colossal pressure from several forward phases led to a scrum under the posts and the visitors broke to score, the extras added to open up a seven-point cushion.
But Moor refused to accept defeat and pushed Kersal back into their own 22, several penalties accumulating and from one line-out deep in Altrincham territory, Asa Bottomley somehow managed to find the smallest of gaps to find the try line.
Tenney narrowly missed a difficult conversion to tie the scores but Kersal players were judged to have advanced too early, and Tenney levelled the game at the second attempt.
The colts now look forward to a home fixture against Wilmslow this weekend.
