Cleckheaton shook off their away win blues with a hard fought and well deserved victory at Lymm. This was the first time the two clubs have played each other and it proved to be a happy hunting ground for the Moorenders, which will give them confidence for the remainder of the season's travels. The task facing the team seemed more daunting with the relatively late loss of Rob Afoa Peterson, Jack Bickerdike and Danny Vento from the squad due to on-going injury and illness but the replacements of Andy Piper, Craig Blackburn and Josh White acquitted themselves well, as Cleckheaton were able to demonstrate some strength in depth.

The game initially went the way of the home side with fullback Dave Williamson finishing of a break by Lymm's three quarter line for an unconverted try. Cleckheaton responded robustly and the pack, which welcomed Paul Turner back in to the fold, started to get on top of their Cheshire counterparts. Playing with the wind at their backs in the first half, Cleck kicked to the corner after winning a penalty and in what is now time honoured fashion, hooker James Crowther found Ollie Akroyd and the catch drive was steered and completed by Richard Piper. The conversion was missed and the scores were level at 5 all.

Cleckheaton went in front when another catch and drive near Lymm’s line proved effective. Lymm tried hard to stop their visitor’s momentum and had fleeting success but could not prevent Callum Thompson from forcing his way over from the back of the ruck. Cleckheaton looked to be gaining the ascendency but an opportunist kick down field was not gathered by the Moorenders and instead was hacked forward by the Lymm chasers. The ball bounced nicely into the hands of Williamson who went in for his second try. Goal kicking success continued to elude both sides and the score was level once again. Cleckheaton continued to work hard with Tom Austin and Josh White making nuisances of themselves whenever Lymm took the ball to ground and from one such turn over, fast hands along the back line from James Wilson and Matt Piper put Lee Queeley into space and the wing man sprinted 50m for a try under the sticks. Ross Hayden added the conversion to give Cleckheaton a 17-10 lead at the break and one hand on their first away win of the season.

Lymm started the second half with determination and with the benefit of the wind at their backs, pinned Cleckheaton in their own half. The Moorenders defended well, producing a number of big hits and Sam Wood showed commendable resilience in defence for such a young player. Despite strong running from Alex Dawson and the introduction of the fresh legs of Andy Piper and Ben Thrower, progress for Cleckheaton out of their half was limited. Matters were made worse when Michael Piper attempted to intercept a long pass but couldn’t gather and the referee issued a yellow card for a deliberate knock on. With Cleckheaton reduced to 14 men, Lymm equalised with a converted try from hooker Ross White.

Cleckheaton were not about to give up the fight after working so hard and dug deep into their reserves. Matt Piper showed great strength after a gathering a ball from the back of the ruck and powered his way to the line with 3 Lymm defenders trying to stop his progress. Michael Piper increased the score to 25-17 with a well taken drop goal and the points seemed to be in the bag. Lymm however, had also not given up and with injury time approaching went over in the corner for a converted try to bring the scores to a tantalising 25-24. It was Cleckheaton who were to have the final say though, when Richard Piper gathered from the back of a scrum 15m from Lymm’s line and put in a deft grubber kick which totally wrong-footed Lymm’s defence, allowing Lee Queeley to gather and touch down to seal Cleckheaton’s first win on the road.

This was a commendable performance by Cleckheaton who now lie 7th in the National 3 – North table. With Bickerdike and Afo-Peterson available for the visit of Burnage on Saturday, Ian Armitage and his coaching team have a selection dilemma but it is the kind of headache which is nice to have. A win over Burnage would cement Cleckheaton in the top half of the table after a third of the games have been played. Kick offs are now at the earlier time of 2.15pm following the clocks going back last weekend.