Barrow Raiders 60 Rochdale Mayfield 6

ON a weekend where some professional clubs were run close by their amateur opponents, Barrow Raiders will have been pleased to eventually overcome a stubborn Rochdale Mayfield side and progress to the fourth round of the Challenge Cup.

Saturday’s matches had seen Cumbrian rivals Whitehaven run close away to West Hull, edging to an 18-16 win, while the highly-anticipated bow of Toronto Wolfpack saw them given an almighty scare in a mud-bath at Siddal before prevailing 14-6.

Not that there was every any danger of head coach Paul Crarey allowing his side to become complacent going into this tie – especially having played, and beaten, the Conference Challenge Trophy winners on their own turf the previous week in the League One Cup.

And an 11-try, 60-6 victory for the Raiders underlined their ruthlessness, although they had briefly trailed in the first half and led by just eight points at the interval following an attritional first 40 minutes which saw the hosts playing into a howling wind in foul conditions.

But with players like former Rochdale Hornets professional Chris Hough and ex-Warrington Wolves player Paul Brierley marshalling the pack, and exciting youngsters such as Zac Hartley and Lewis Sheridan in the backs, Mayfield were always going to provide stiff opposition.

It was someone who the visitors’ head coach, Matt Calland, knows well from his time at Halifax who played a big part in snuffing out their hopes of an upset though, with Ryan Fieldhouse grabbing four tries for Barrow.

The manner in which those scores all came about was testament to Fieldhouse’s superb support play on the day; the first from him snaffling up a loose ball, the second and third from latching onto offloads and the fourth from being in the right place to finish from Lewis Charnock’s pass.

But while the full-back will deservedly gain many of the accolades for his scoring prowess, there were few players on the pitch who did more to lay the foundation for this victory than second row Danny Morrow.

One of the clutch of players to have emerged from the area’s amateur scene in recent years, Morrow was outstanding in both attack and defence, and it seemed at times as if he was always the man making a crucial tackle or a huge carry with the ball.

The former Walney Central player’s offload for Fieldhouse to complete his hat-trick early in the second half was one of the highlights of the game on its own, and Morrow’s try just after the hour mark ensured he had a tangible reward for his display.

Unlike the previous week, it took time for Barrow to impose themselves on the game though and that was not helped by having the conditions against them in the first half. Mayfield were typically robust in both attack and defence too, while their short kick-offs again posed questions.

Nevertheless, the Raiders took the lead on eight minutes when Fieldhouse was quickest to react for an unconverted score after Charnock had lost the ball backwards when being tackled close to the line, and were unfortunate not to have another eight minutes later through Luke Cresswell after play was pulled back for a forward pass.

Handling errors and penalties then allowed Mayfield to gain a foothold which they ruthlessly exploited in the 19th minute when Declan Sheridan – on for injured hooker Callum Ogden, who was later taken to hospital – sending prop Seta Tala racing through a huge gap in the defence to score under the posts.

Scrum-half Hartley duly added the extras, but a knock-on by Lee Registe gave Barrow a scrum deep in opposition territory and although Morrow was halted just short after a bullocking run, the ball was worked out for second row partner Bradd Crellin to get over for a converted score.

Another well-worked move led to Declan Hulme getting over to give the home side a bit more breathing room with an unconverted try two minutes before the break, and when play resumed they started to cut loose.

Fieldhouse’s double in the 10 minutes after the break firmly swung the game in Barrow’s favour and he completed his haul after 55 minutes. Morrow got in on the act six minutes later, with former Workington Town duo Jarrad Stack – playing in the centre – and Hulme adding to the tally.

Charnock, who kicked eight conversions, took Barrow’s tally to 10 and there was still time for Stack to get his second before the final hooter brought a close to proceedings. All eyes will now be on tomorrow night’s draw for the fourth round to see who the Raiders are paired with.

BARROW RAIDERS: Ryan Fieldhouse 8; Shane Toal 7, Jarred Stack 7, Declan Hulme 7, Luke Cresswell 7; Jamie Dallimore 7, Lewis Charnock 7; Joe Bullock 7, Brad Marwood 6, Oliver Wilkes 7, Danny Morrow 9, Bradd Crellin 7, Martin Aspinwall 6. Interchange: Nathan Mossop 7, Andrew Dawson 7, Tom Walker 6, Matty While 7.

ROCHDALE MAYFIELD: Lewis Sheridan; Liam Riley, Matty Chrimes, Matty Ashton, Lee Registe; Zac Baher, Zac Hartley; James Shaw, Callum Ogden, Seta Tala, Callum Marriott, Chris Hough, Paul Brierley. Interchange: Declan Sheridan, Jamie Connaughton, Simon Moore, Sean Mathins.

Referee: M Griffiths.

Attendance: 500.

Playback: 8 – Fieldhouse try (4-0); 19 – Tala try, Hartley con (4-6); 25 – Crellin try, Charnock con (10-6); 38 – Hulme try (14-6); 44 – Fieldhouse try, Charnock con; 46 – Fieldhouse try, Charnock con 26-6; 55 – Fieldhouse try, Charnock con (32-6); 61 – Morrow try, Charnock con (38-6); 66 – Stack try (42-6); 68 – Hulme try, Charnock con (48-6); 74 – Charnock try and con (54-6); 79 – Stack try, Charnock con (60-6).

Barrow Raiders star man: Danny Morrow: The former Walney Central amateur was a man-mountain in defence and ran hard with the ball in hand all game. Morrow's offload for Ryan Fieldhouse's third try was a highlight reel moment and his own score was a just reward for his efforts.