Congleton entered this contest with an air of expectation following a much improved performance against Holmes Chapel last week. The pre match preparation was again affected with the typical Saturday morning drop outs, however Congleton were still able to field a strong side.

The most notable drop out was the loss of match day captain and inspirational scrum half Michael Manning, who experienced a last minute pre match bath time injury, trapping his pinkie in the plughole trying to save his favourite bath time toy from soapy oblivion. He was replaced by debutant, Larry Logo.

It was clear from the outset that Congleton were the stronger side, with their forwards exerting dominance in all facets of the set piece and break down. The speed and omnipresent breakdown work of the returning Jacob Armstrong-Bainbridge and Tyler Smith on the flanks provided the perfect foil for barnstorming blustasaurusness of Ben Somers at no. 8.

Congleton regularly punctuated the home side defence, scoring 5 tries in the first half. The pick of the tries was when, after some exemplary support running from Alex King Boote, the ball was recycled for Somers to embark on a thundering run from 20 metres out. With the home defenders flying in all directions, their scattered bodies piling up around him like the corpses of Uruk-hai around Boromir of Gondor, he crashed over under the posts. One of the opposition supporters was heard to utter “Wow, he can’t half shift for a big lad.”

Half time – Congleton 27 – Sandbach 0

The majority of the second half was a fairly turgid affair, with Congleton easing off, the game already won. Coach Partridge attempted to spice up the Congleton attack with introduction of the dancing feet of Ash Zebo in the centres, along with Elbow and Meatdog in the pack, but their addition did little to raise the away side out of their malaise.

The second half did however produce one moment of magic, with Congleton’s latest crash ball fly half prodigy Gareth Cresswell embarking on a bludgeoning run into the heart of the Sandbach midfield, drawing 2 defenders, then throwing a Houdini-like Sonny Bill offload to the oncoming Adonis Davies steam train who ran 40 metres, scything through the cover defence to touch down to rapturous applause. Arguably try of the season thus far.

The Bears did manage to add a couple more scores in the last 10 minutes of the match. Despite the more than noticeable aroma on last night’s Sambuca on his breathe, clear pupil dilation and legs thinner than an emaciated chicken, the little man danced through the tiring home defence for 2 late scores to complete his hat trick and a good day out for the away side.

Tries – Creswell, Somers, Logo (3), O’Potato, McNicholas, Davies. Conversions – Cresswell (3)