KIRKBY Lonsdale has continued to grow from its rebuilding in their latest match against a strong Wirral side.

A mostly unfamiliar starting line-up took the field for Kirkby against the Wirral side on Saturday at Underly Park.

A young side consisting of players from the Development Squad and the Third15, were supported and guided by the guile, experience and undying enthusiasm of veterans Dan Armistead, Stu Story, and the younger veteran Harry Huddleston.

From the start Wirral were treated to some fearsome tackling from Kirkby which stifled several promising looking attacks.

After 20 minutes of sustained pressure Kirkby suddenly gained the upper hand turning the ball over and made good ground heading for the Wirral line but a spilled ball gave the advantage back to Wirral who chased a long kick to score against the run of play.

Kirkby maintained their shape and aggression for well into the half often showing passages of promising play but only due to lack of game time together and some inexperience at this level let in another couple of tries be 17 points down by half time.

During the second half, Kirkby made a comeback and dominated several phases of the game giving Wirral a real fright scoring two well worked tries which were both nicely converted.

However, Wirral responded and showed their true talents, but could only match Kirkby’s point tally and so the second half ended in a draw but the final score was 14-31.

Despite the loss, Kirkby fans praised the team for their performance and were heartened by their teams ever maturing display and improving levels of skill and non-stop commitment.