NORTHWICH Rugby Club first XV’s opening competitive match of the season could not have been tougher.

Facing old adversaries Stockport in the Cheshire Cup at Moss Farm, they ended up defeated 39-24.

The forecasted rain never materialised, and the large crowd were treated to an afternoon of glorious sunshine and some very entertaining rugby.

With the holiday season still in full swing there was a plethora of debutants taking to the field, giving the coaching team the opportunity for an early look at some newcomers.

The match started badly for Blacks as the visitors launched an early attack going through some controlled phases.

Some poor tackling led to an opening in the Northwich defences and Stockport scored a converted try after only three minutes.

This early shock seemed to galvanise Blacks, and they started to enjoy some possession and began to apply some pressure in the visitors’ 22.

A penalty presented man-of-the-match Rory Leijdekkers with the opportunity to tap and cross the line for a try. Harry Naylor added the extras and parity was restored.

On the 18th minute Northwich were awarded a penalty for holding in the tackle and Naylor was on target for a three-point lead.

This was short-lived when five minutes later the visitors carried the ball from deep and some sloppy defence led to a Stockport try that went unconverted.

After a warning from the referee new boy Curtis Finnigan was shown a yellow card.

Blacks then faced a rearguard action with some stoic defending that kept the visitors at bay.

Nevertheless, as the half moved into stoppage time, an ambitious cross-field kick was intercepted by Stockport and with the easiest of run-ins scored a converted try giving them a 19-10 lead at the break.

In the 53rd minute a misjudged lineout fell into the hands of the visitors to score another easy converted try.

Stockport then landed a penalty to take a 19-point lead with 20 minutes remaining.

With all looking lost Blacks sprung into life and a good break followed by a chip kick led to a well-deserved try finished by Tom Husbands, converted by Naylor.

Three minutes later a similar situation arose this time the favourable bounce fell into the grateful hands of Jack Owens who scored another converted try.

With the match poised the home support were beginning to feel hopeful until the visitors scored two late unconverted tries to seal the result for Stockport.

Despite the disappointment of crashing out of the Cheshire Cup the coaching team were happy with many aspects of the performance.

The set-piece went very well, and defence was solid, although at time inconsistent.

In the end it was errors of their own making that proved the difference, and this will no doubt be the focus for improvement.

Northwich entertain Bethesda in a friendly on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.