Beverley and Sandal rediscover winning feeling as Morley suffer

Two penalties from fly-half Phil Duboulay put them ahead but poor tackling allowed Birkenhead to capture the lead with tries by hooker Stuart Brown and winger Mark KcKeon.

Beverley retook the lead with a try by full-back Richard Bussey, and then added another from veteran centre Stanley Gene who sprinted 40 metres through the visitors’ defence. Both tries were converted by Duboulay.

Winger Sam Atiola added a third tdirect from the restart but Birkenhead struck back through fly-half Anthony Hanley, Dave Hall converting. But they were unable to add to it until the last play of the match when Brown touched down.

Beverley were unable to get the fourth try they needed to secure a bonus point and their only further score of the second half was a third Duboulay penalty.

SANDAL picked up their first victory since the beginning of January in a closely-fought contest.

The visitors took the lead with a penalty which was soon cancelled out by fly half Greg Wood. Lymm moved back ahead 6-3 before the home side picked up the first try. From the 22, the ball was quickly shipped along the line and full-back Tom Coad beat his man to power over the line.

A third successful kick for Lymm kept them in touch but Sandal responded again when a break down the blind side from the 22 allowed centre Dave Martin in for a try.

Wood added a further three points after the interval but Lymm grabbed their first try of the game and the conversion was successful in the 55th minute.

In a tight final quarter, Sandal dominated territory, and snatched the winning points with a penalty with five minutes remaining from Wood.

MORLEY ran high-flying Rossendale close until three tries in the last 10 minutes saw them slip to a 44-24 defeat.

The visitors took a 10-0 lead with a try, conversion and penalty inside 15 minutes but a brace of penalties from Morley winger Simon Bradshaw reduced the lead. However, Rossendale hit back with two tries in a minute at the end of the first half.

After the break Morley enjoyed a purple patch with an interception try from full-back Jack Moon, Bradshaw converting.

Rossendale slotted a penalty but Morley came back when No 8 Tom Clough fielded a long kick and set off on a marauding run down the touchline before offloading for Bradshaw to scamper over. A quick penalty from the Maroons left just two points in it, only for Morley to suffer another late collapse.

With 10 minutes left a turnover in the scrum precipitated an onset of Rossendale tries.