Oswestry Eagles 29 Southport 10
South Lancs/Cheshire Division Two North
OSWESTRY Eagles flew straight to the top of the league with two tries from Thomas Thorpe easing them to an eighth straight win over Southport at Park Hall.
The in-form side proved they are the team to beat as they look to bounce back from last season's relegation, with Rob Massam opening the scoring as Oswestry dominated under the watchful eye of coach Scott Sturdy.
Andy Howell remained on target with the boot and his accurate kicking kept Southport on the back foot for most of the game with Jim Dilks and Ivor Hughes adding the game's other tries to leave the Eagles top on points difference with two games in hand.
Nathan Parker rose well to secure the ball straight from the off before surging into the Southport 22. He then released good ball to the backs with Massam crashing in under the posts and Howell converting.
Both sides jostled for supremecy in the following 25 minutes but Howell kept the visitors pinned back deep in their own half as he dictated the game.
Hughes chased down one of Howell's kicks and was brought down just 10 metres short of the line as the ball bounced kindly for him with the Southport backline unsure how to deal with the aerial bombardment, but Dilks profited from the resulting scrum after Oswestry drove the visitors over their own line to make the score 12-0.
Southport’s forwards appeared to come from the side to steal the ball and score a try of their own almost immediately after the restart, but the Eagles found another gear with Sam Wright and Dan Samuels recycling some good ball, allowing Howell to chip the ball over the defence for Hughes to pick up and score with the conversion adding the extra two points.
Powerful play by the forwards saw Oswestry emerge with another try through Thorpe just before the break, but Southport hit the ground running in the second half when they touched down in the corner.
Smith’s dominance in the scrum paid off for Oswestry and with the pack moving forward, Thorpe sealed the points with a pushover try to leave the Eagles sitting pretty ahead of next Saturday's trip to Sefton.