PUBLISHED 10 February 2023
AKS U16s took their place in the final of the Lancashire Cup, after beating a spirited Standish High team.
Playing down the hill, AKS got into their stride, moving the ball wide and looking for space on the edges. Standish were strong in defence and were able to snuffle out opportunities, created by the AKS backs. AKS were dominant, with Leo's pinpoint throwing and Sam Lo (a master in the air), giving the backline clean ball to play. Felix made the most of the space, with great distribution from Ben and Toby, he crashed over the line, to the left of the posts. AKS continued to make the most of the slope and kept Standish in their 22, through precise kicking from both Toby and Felix. AKS received a scrum on the right, following a handling error, which gave AKS their next opportunity. Finn picked at 8 and fed Ben, who weaved his way to the line, to cross in the far left of the pitch.
Standish showed great resilience to AKS and with ball in hand, the big Standish forwards made strong running and some impressive offloads, they got behind the AKS defence. This allowed them to pressure AKS into giving away a penalty. A quick tap at a penalty, saw the home team score and convert to bring them back into the game. Standish continued to look dangerous in attack, but it was AKS that finished the half with another score. Toby placed the ball in the corner and Leo forced his way over from the resulting lineout. Half time 7-15.
In the second half, Standish started strong, challenging the AKS defence and camping in the AKS 22 for a period of time. However, thundering tackling from Stan and Felix kept the Standish runners a bay. When presented with the opportunity, AKS stretched the home side, and with a well-timed pass from Tommy, saw Sam Li, slip through the defence to score. AKS started to control the game in the latter stages, with Will looking dangerous on the right wing, and causing his opponent a defensive headache. He soon had the opportunity he was waiting for and cruised down the wing to score in the right corner.
The final score 7-25. AKS now look forward to the final.
Player of the game was Felix and honourable mentions to Sam Li, and Stan.