SPEAK SOFTLY, AND CARRY A BIG STICK

VALE VIKINGS 14   OLDERSHAW 2nds 17
Miller Homes Division 2

The Vikings and Oldershaw ensured it was not a blank weekend and in doing so, served up a tasty encounter that contained a number of twists and turns in a committed sporting contest that emphasised the underlying ethos that has been cultivated in the Miller Homes Leagues, that having a game and fulfilling a fixture is paramount.

Oldershaw arrived at The Lane without a recognised front row but a full squad of players with a surfeit of three quarters. Uncontested scrums were the order of the day, and rightly so. This situation appeared to suit the Vikings, who led 14-0 at half time.
Two tries had been scored by their mature, oak barrelled players, Paul McAllister and Andrew Armitstead. Paul's try came in the seventh minute following a slick handling move: his characteristic economical sprinting enabling him to glide over for a try converted by Gareth Price with a languid kick from wide out.

Seventeen minutes later another evergreen Viking added a second try. Andy slipped over with the ease of James Bond exiting a wardrobe in the dead of night, Gareth converted from in front.
With the crowd beginning to build and the house full notices being put up outside the "Guinness Joe Smoking Den" on the veranda, one half of the "Dream Team" on ground duty, Dave Bennetts, moved onto the East Terrace for a spot of crowd control. It was not quite a red alert situation although the walkie talkie began to crackle when Enty produced a hip flask brim full of Isle of Morrison's very best, matured in peat for over a century.

The other half, President, Phil Sutcliffe, was busy wrestling with trying to run the Miller Homes flag up to the top of the pole, he is a Queen's Scout you know, reported Mr Bennetts. Phil was also dealing with a series of questions concerned with the minutia of planning legislation and was soon ready for a walk round and a much needed fag.

During the interval changes were being made in 'Shaw's' line up as Vale player Gavin Speak was spotted, through the haze of King Edward cigar smoke, tugging an Oldershaw jersey over has ample torso. Gavin made an immediate impact, trundling his way downfield purposefully despite having a number of players in cherry and white clinging to his body.
It was written in the stars that Gavin's appearance would alter the course of the game and in the forty fifth minute he crashed over by the posts, his try being converted by stand off John Jones. The Vikings immediately summoned Mark Bolton from the bench to "take care" of Gavin, but this opening had given the visitors confidence and they took the game to the Vale.

Uncontested scrums were still the order of the day and in the sixty fifth minute John Jones kicked a penalty to cut the deficit to four points. Changes were made in the Vikings line up but they were unable to reproduce the form of the first half, and the Paul Batty fan club were denied the sight of their hero strutting his stuff on the wide open spaces, they had to be content with a spicy running commentary from the technical area.

Victory was secured for Oldershaw when Terry Law snaffled the ball close to the line to force his way over, Jones added the conversion with six minutes left, enough time for the Vikings to either tie the game or win it. It was all pretty frantic in the closing moments, 'Shaw' hung on, the Vikings went for glory, turning down kicks at goal, but the tension proved too much as grasping hands spilled passes.

It had been an absorbing game of a high standard, with plenty of action and enough to talk about in the clubhouse afterwards, where the first team were having a bonding session. Following games of pool the players moved on to the dart board, forcing the Alies to move to a safe area and so avoid picking darts out of their necks.

There had been a purge on unpaid subscriptions, a situation that brought a huge smile to the Membership Secretary's face, or was it wind? At least it stopped him worrying about trying to recoup his his lost concession at the recent Morecambe v Bury game, when he had inadvertently paid the full admission price!!

VALE VIKINGS: G.Price, J.Andrews, S.Whiteway (Rep J.Antcliffe), A.Armitstead, P.McAllister, A.Melville (Capt), P. Riley, D.Ginochio. T.Docton, (Rep T.Smith), J.Willacy (M.Bolton), L.Griffiths (E.Perry), C.Smith (G.Pennington), J.Hoyle, S.Wallbank, I.Turton.