Thatto Heath 82 Latchford Albion 6

LATCHFORD found how unforgiving life in the North West Men’s League top flight can be when they fell to a heavy defeat to title challengers Thatto Heath.

Albion’s squad was put to the test, with 10 players out of the previous week’s 17 missing for various reasons and handed out five debuts.

The unfamiliarity between players proved costly as the hosts raced into a 36-0 lead in 20 minutes.

Albion’s only respite came when stand off Craig Lawton gambled on the last tackle and sold the home side a dummy to cross before converting himself.

Thatto registered three more converted tries to leave Latchford trailing 54-6 at half time.

The second half was all about pride, and credit to the players who matched the home side for the first 20 minutes of the second half.

Due to a combination of injuries and the amount of defending taking its toll on Albion the hosts cashed in during the final quarter.