We mean business!

Sep 29 2008 by Chris Roberts, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

WE MEAN BUSINESS!

TRIUMPHANT Huddersfield coach Mark Sowerby believes his side’s magnificent 19-18 victory over previously unbeaten Macclesfield will have sent a clear warning to the rest of the clubs in National III North.

The men from Lockwood Park backed up their 24-3 triumph over Halifax two weeks ago with a second home win on the trot against opponents who had won their opening three League fixtures.

It was a victory Huddersfield thoroughly deserved, although their visitors could count themselves unfortunate not to have stolen the contest at the death when Ross Winney’s last-second penalty attempt hit the hosts’ right-hand post.

And Director of Rugby Sowerby is convinced this latest result will have proved to everyone his newly-promoted side have ‘arrived’ at this level – and that Lockwood Park will be no easy place to visit.

“In this first season at this level, we are aiming to win as many of our home games as possible, with any success on the road viewed as a bonus,” he said. “So far, it’s going as well as we could have wished, especially at home.

“Macclesfield have made a good start to the season and beaten some half-decent sides, but we proved exactly what we could do at this level.

“To be fair, I don’t think they tested us that much, and their two tries were on the back of our defensive errors.

“As far as I’m concerned, what this win showed was that we can compete successfully at this level, and we’ve sent a message to all the other clubs in this League that Lockwood Park is not an easy place to come and play. We want it to become something of a fortress.

“We’re not a team full of superstars, we’re a team that works hard for each other and will always stand up and front up. We’ve shown we mean business.

“On top of that, we’re also capable of playing some good rugby, as we showed in patches in this game.

“Overall, I’m absolutely delighted with this win and with the way things are continuing to come together.”

But in the opening stages there was little to suggest there would be cause for so much celebration.

Within two minutes, the visitors had crossed with relative ease as No8 Craig Smithson ploughed over from close range and Winney added the conversion.

Chris Johnson’s penalty three minutes later did offer some hope, but for the first 15 minutes Huddersfield looked edgy and unsure, while Macclesfield were able to play with far more assurance.

However, everything finally started falling into place after 25 minutes.

Damian Clayton collected possession from a Huddersfield line-out on the Macclesfield 20, spotted a gap and sliced through at pace before outrunning the cover to dive over.

Johnson failed with the conversion attempt, but made no mistake with a penalty after 30 minutes when Adam Sutcliffe’s break was halted by Peter Allen, who then deliberately acted as the spoiler and earned a spell in the sin-bin as a result.

Yet despite being a man down, the visitors were the next to strike when dangerous full-back Fergus Mulchrone brushed aside a couple of shabby tackles to score in the corner and give Macclesfield a 12-11 interval lead.

Fortunately, that 35th-minute score failed to swing the momentum Macclesfield’s way, and in the third quarter of the contest Huddersfield made their decisive strike.

Johnson set the ball rolling with a 43rd-minute penalty to nudge his side back in front at 14-12 – before the home side grabbed the crucial, and ultimately matchwinning, try seven minutes on.

Nick Sharpe broke down the blindside from a scrum just inside his own half and fed Clayton, who immediately fed Alex Shaw to take on his opposite number down the flank and just have the pace to finish off for a great winger’s try.

With Johnson just failing with the touchline conversion, Huddersfield had to settle for the seven-point cushion.

That was down to four in the 56th minute with a Winney penalty and eight minutes later it was just one when the fly-half slotted over again.

Sharpe was also sin-binned for a professional foul as Winney added that second penalty, and the tension was mounting.

Winney – a former teammate of Sowerby’s at Wakefield – then failed narrowly with a 40m penalty attempt with eight minutes remaining.

And with the last kick of the game, the Macclesfield man had another penalty attempt from the same spot, and this time the ball came back off a post.

Referee Dave Edmunds then immediately blew for time and an outstanding and thrilling victory had been secured.

Huddersfield: Ainsworth; Sutcliffe, Paxman (B), Paxman (L), Shaw; Johnson, Clayton; Howard, Gough, Stringwell, Rhodes, Hinchliff, Sowerby, Whitehead, Sharpe. Subs: McPhail, Davies, Mortimore, Ramsden, Sharrock.

Macclesfield: Mulchrone; Fowles (L), McDermott (R), Hughes, Fowles (J); Winney, Macey; Devine, Allen, Robinson, Marsh, Lear, Jones, Baines, Smithson. Subs: Goodfellow, Keane, Moss, Hewitt, McDermott (G).

Referee: Dave Edmunds (Wirral).