BURY Broncos A finished fifth in Division Five of the North West Men's League despite losing their last match of the season 14-6 at Clock Face Miners A.

Victory would have seen them move up to fourth, but that was always going to be a tough ask against third-placed Clock Face, who ended the campaign just five points off top spot and 15 points better off than Bury.

Their task was made harder after four players were forced to pull out due to work commitments, leaving club chairman Ryan Lewis and Rob Gelhaar to step in as late replacements to boost the squad up to 18 players.

Clock Face were at full strength and featured a number of former Conference League players, but Broncos, who play their home matches at Philips High School, stuck to their task manfully.

In fact, scrum-half Sean Kelly put the visitors in front, running on to his own wonderfully weighted chip to bypass three covering defenders and open the scoring, with Jay Rawlinson adding the extras.

Clock Face took advantage of a defensive lapse to level the score before the break, but Bury remained resolute in the second half and kept the home side at bay until the final 10 minutes.

The Miners finally got their noses in front when their loose forward struggled over to tough down for an unconverted try.

Five minutes later, Clock Face found joy out wide, doubling up against a tired Bury defence to a add a third try.

First-team coach Dave Kelly was proud of the commitment shown by the club's second string.

He said: "Fifth place is a creditable finish.

"My congratulations to coach Paul Kynaston on a fantastic first season in charge of the team, and to all the players who took part in the final game, which was a fantastic, gutsy performance that they were unlucky to lose.

"There were the usual solid performances from Steve Critchley, Jonno Taylor, Danny Kelly and Liam Sixsmith, but man of the match would have to be veteran Dave Latham, who put in an error-free display.

"And Sean Trudgian and Gary Kabamba – two teenagers in their first season at open age – both continued to make progress after an outstanding season."

The season continues for the club's under-14s side, who are at home against Crosfields on Saturday in a match that will go a long way to deciding the league title.

New players of all ages are always welcome. Anyone interested in joining one of the Broncos' teams should contact Jean on 07909 752856, email contact@burybroncos.co.uk or find out more at www.burybroncos.co.uk