Culcheth Eagles 24 Latchford Albion 16

EAGLES progressed from the preliminary round of North West Men’s League Trophy at the expense of rivals Latchford Albion on Saturday.

Latchford enjoyed the perfect start when second row Lee Smith crashed over in the corner after five minutes.

However, Culcheth opened their account with a strong burst from Ryan Williams, converted by James Wilde.

Wilde then added a try of his own and the half ended with Stu Johnson crossing for Eagles’ third giving them a 14-point lead.

Latchford applied the pressure and dominated the first 10 minutes of the second half with Martin Whitehead racing from dummy half to score, Craig Delaney converting.

The visitors then brought the score to within two points with a try from Dave Levenston, again converted by Delaney.

A scrappy period followed and Latchford could have gone ahead but for a knock on over the line.

Eagles’ Damon Fishwick then picked up a loose ball and ran an unexpected 60 metres to cross unchallenged, the steady boot of Wilde helping to secure Culcheth’s passage into the next round.

Latchford team Middlemore: Bradley, Sherratt, Levenston, Longmore: Yii, Saunders: Hill, Whitehead, Hickman, Smith, Delaney, Byrne, Fleming, Green, McGuiness, Byron.