Ramsey defeated by Hoyake in Cheshire Bowl final
Report by Dave Christian:
Vagabonds Ladies travelled to unbeaten champions Sale FC 1871 expecting little.
They did however take a strong squad and put in a gritty performance to win 31-29.
Their two stars, Freya Crowe and Bea O’Neill, both weighed in with tries however the strength throughout the squad was underlined with tries from Lauren Ellison, Becky Dunne and Leona McGovern.
Skipper, Sammie Macdonald added three conversions which proved to be the difference.
The results puts 'Vagas' into fourth in the Womens NC 2 North (South).
Hoylake claim Cheshire Bowl
Hoylake went off to the better start - they dominated possession for the opening ten minutes and while the Ramsey defence held firm some early indiscipline saw them pinned back in their own half.
Twelve minutes in, however the defence cracked - Hoylake shipped the ball wide to wing Jake McConville and he showed some fancy footwork to dance over the line.
Ross Jones converted for a 7-0 lead.
Ramsey lost second row, Jacob Corteen with an ankle injury after 25 minutes, his replacement, Harry Parsons was barely on the field before Hoylake bagged their second try after some loose Ramsey play and some excellent support running.
Jones’ conversion was missed and as half time approached, Hoylake were 12-0 ahead.
As the first half came to an end, Hoylake added a third try after a quick tap penalty, Jones’ conversion attempt was missed.
With the final play of the half though, Ramsey finally got on the scoreboard courtesy of a Dan Kelly penalty which left the Hoylake lead at 17-3 at the break.
Any thought of a Ramsey revival was quickly snuffed out early in the second half - Hoylake continued their defensive press and quickly added two more tries to their tally.
Ross Jones converted both and the lead was suddenly out at 31-3 with 25 minutes to play.
There was no joy for Ramsey in the closing stages - Hoylake ran in two more, both converted by Ross Jones which gave them maximum league points and the Cheshire Bowl.
No joy for Vagabonds men
Vagabonds men were also on the road in Counties 3 ADM Lancs/Cheshire Minor Conference with a tough trip to Dukinfield who needed just one point from the game to claim the Minor Conference trophy.
The Manchester side won 46-17 to claim their title.
Cam Findlay, Reece D’Oliveira and Brendan Kelly all went in for 'Vagas'' tries with Findlay converting one.
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