11:16am Thursday 2nd September 2010
TYLDESLEY travelled to Audenshaw in the first round of the Lancashire Trophy with a depleted squad but came away with a hard-fought but ultimately deserved victory.
Aldwinians were surprisingly relegated at the end of last season and will ply their trade in North Lancs One this term but the appointment of ex-Preston Grasshoppers prop Chris Stone as player coach means that they will be a tough nut to crack.
Tyldesley could easily have come unstuck, particularly with a stiff breeze blowing straight down the pitch and frequent heavy showers.
Aldwinians were first on the scoreboard when they crossed within two minutes and although Bibby marked his welcome return to Tyldesley action with a well-taken try almost immediately to level the scores, Tyldesley lost Williams to injury at the same time which brought old warhorse Edge to the fray.
Wallbank and Dickinson added a penalty each to extend Tyldesley’s lead.
Just before the break Aldwinians scored a well worked try from the base of a scrum and Tyldesley turned round just a point to the good, while having to play into the teeth of the wind in the second period.
Tyldesley lost O'Connor to injury at the break, bringing Steve Jones into the action for his first-team debut and he turned in a great performance particularly during the last 15 minutes when he more than held his ground propping against the Aldwinians player coach.
Tyldesley extended their lead when Paine scored a great individual try.
Aldwinians brought themselves to within one point yet again but it was captain Dickinson who scored a great individual try to secure the victory with 15 minutes remaining.
Tyldesley's fitness saw them home as they continually pressed the home team’s line and maybe should have scored when Gaz Corbett crossed but it was ruled out for a forward pass.
One final passage of play underlined Tyldesley's superiority in the final quarter when the Tyldesley pack proceeded to march Aldwinians 60 metres down the field from deep in their own 22 to wind down the clock and close out the game.
Next week sees them visit to SGP of Hoylake as Tyldesley start their league campaign against tough opposition from the Wirral but will be hoping to improve on the last two performances to start their campaign on the right note.
Kick off is 3pm.
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