A first half of scintillating front foot rugby - the best we have played for over 12 months - and one which must surely have been the most difficult Macclesfield have faced this season.

We started with both pace and purpose dominating all facets of the game, the forwards dominating the scrum, lineout and the loose and the backs looking dangerous as we camped in Macc`s half.

Mid way through half the pressure told with Rob Shingles - on his debut-showed speed and strength to force his way over in the corner. From the kick off we then scored our try of the season to date. Reuben Harvey started and finished the move as the ball passed through a number of pairs hands before Reuben shrugged off the attention of the Macc backs to score close to the posts. The try was duly converted by Andy Rimmer and followed by a penalty to bring about a 15-0 scoreline as half time approached.

With the game "heating up" we found ourselves reduced to 14 men and shortly afterwards Macclesfield reduced the deficit by 5 points as they put together their first spell of controlled rugby.

We started the second half well - but not well enough and the cohesiveness that we`d displayed in the first half dissipated as the half wore on. Macc`s pack started to control possession allowing their number 10 to dictate where the game was being played ie largely in our half. The loss of Nick Blackham through injury further disrupted our play but to our credit it was not until the final 10 minutes that Macc were able to stretch away.

So in the end a disappointing score -line, but the quality of our first half performance throughout the team confirms that we are making tangible progress and which should give us the confidence to compete with all teams in the league.