SAM Naylor says small details made a big difference during Saturday’s cup clash with Blackburn.

Northwich exited the RFU Intermediate Cup after a 16-16 draw, their hosts progressing to the knockout stage by virtue of beating Aspatria by a wider margin than Blacks had managed.

It means there will be no return this season to Twickenham, where the men from Moss Farm lifted a trophy in 2007.

“We’re gutted to go out after being so close,” said the player-coach.

“It was a tight contest, with nothing at all between the teams.

“In the end we probably conceded too many penalties, but it’s a minor criticism.

“We were under pressure, and that can happen.

“Not one player left anything out on the pitch, we gave it our all.

“We can, and should, be positive about that.”

Northwich established a deserved lead during the early exchanges, when Chris James touched down a try converted by James Underhill.

But they were ahead twice more before the final whistle, but never by a big enough margin to put the home team – flying high in their league – out of reach.

“We blew them away at the start,” said Naylor.

“During the first 10 minutes, we played some of the best stuff I can remember this season.

“We got ourselves into a good position, and defended pretty well to protect it.

“We felt confident, even though they came at us strongly.

“One or two mistakes crept in and we lost the ball at our lineout for them to score their try.”

Blackburn, beaten only once on their own pitch in North Lancs/Cumbria this term, proved as daunting opponents as Northwich expected.

But Blacks were a match for them.

Naylor added: “They said afterwards they’d not come up against a side like us.

“I think some of our supporters were worried during the warm up after seeing the size of their pack – they thought we might get tonked!

“We never felt that out on the pitch.

“Even when we trailed at half time, we didn’t get down about it.

“It was hard to create many chances though – our best was when Grayson [Thyne] had a great run at the start of the second half that won us a penalty close to their sticks.

“We’ll learn though, and stay positive.

“We’ve worked hard on our discipline in the past couple of months, and we’ll carry on doing so.”

Northwich turn their attention back to the league this Saturday, when they visit Sefton.