Longton came out on top of county rivals, Stafford, with a tense 24-17pts. victory at Trentham Fields in front of a healthy crowd.The hosts welcomed back Joe Hall in the centre after a lengthy injury absence and scrum-half, Darryl Banton, was given a start at scrum-half with Jordan Hough taking a spot on the bench after featuring in the starting line-up for every game this season.Stafford were on top in the early part of the game as Longton were guilty of several handling errors. It was no surprise when the visitors took the lead after only 8mins. with an unconverted try. Stafford scored their second try when a beautifully judged cross-kick found r cover defence to touch down in the corner by right-wing, Wareham, who stepped inside the cover defence to touch down. The conversion missed again but Stafford now led by 10pts. to nil. After 22mins. Longton put their first score on the board through Darryl Banton touching down with excellent support play to a right-wing move. Grant Hallam converted with a superb kick to make the score 10-7pts. This was just the tonic Longton needed as they started to dominate possession with the front-row to the forein the scrums. Only some wayward handling prevented additions to the Longton score but by now the hosts were bossing the game. With 30mins. gone Stafford conceded a penalty on their “22” but wide out near to touch. However, Grant Hallam sent the kick soaring through the uprights to level the scores at 10pts. all and this was the score at half-time. beforeThe second-half was only 5mins. old when Longton scored again. The pack drove forward relentlessly towards the try-line before the ball was transferred out wide for atry to be scored in the corner by Cameron Adderley. Again, Grant Hallam converted again with a magnificent kick to make the score 17-10pts. to Longton. However, with 20mins. gone Stafford fought their way back intro the contest with the try of the match. The ball was passed through several pairs of hands all running at pace before the last man went over. The conversion was good to level the scores at 17pts.all.Longton were beginning to have far more of the ball and hence territory. The final score came on 27mins. when Longton scored a fine try and with Grant Hallam’s conversion the score was now 24-17pts. With Longton now seemingly in control theylost a player to a yellow card for an intended interception. Then, to make matters worse Pete Wilshaw was shown a red card for an alleged stamping leaving Longton to see out the remaining time with only 13 men. However, the forwards stepped up
with a Herculean effort by actually putting the Stafford eight under pressure in the tight. This enabled Longton to see out the remaining time without conceding a point and thus to win the game by 24-17pts.The Longton front-row receive great credit and half-backs, Darryl Banton and Grant Hallam, in outstanding form with the latter being man-of-the-match.

Mick Wheat.