Bradshaw on target as improving Morley get on winning trail at Beverley’s expense

Morley 26 Beverley 7

MORLEY picked up their first victory of the season with a much-improved display.

Having suffered a heavy defeat on the opening day but looking far more cohesive in the nine-point defeat by Altrincham last time out, the hosts were looking for this home encounter to provide the next step to recovery.

So it proved, as a much more efficient attacking force simply swept the visitors aside and Morley led 18-0 at the break. Left winger Simon Bradshaw got things started with three points before the forwards clicked into gear to put Beverley under intense pressure.

After going through the phases, second-row Tom Hanson forced his way over from close range on six minutes to make it 8-0. Then, on 18 minutes, Paul Gabriel repeated the process to crash through for a second, Bradshaw converting and then adding a further penalty to extend the lead to 18 points.

Another kick early in the second half put Beverley on the back foot and Bradshaw’s long-range finish, his second in successive weeks, put the game out of reach for the visitors.

Rossendale 36 Sandal 3

SANDAL were outmuscled in difficult conditions at Rossendale who started the day level with them in the table.

On a boggy pitch, which made running rugby difficult, the visitors had to fight a forward battle that did not go their way.

The power of Rossendale’s forwards saw them run in four tries and a conversion before the break.

Sandal were guilty of not clearing their lines and the opposition were happy to use their five-metre scrums as a valuable weapon to put pressure on the forwards.

Trailing 22-0, Sandal started to step up their game in the second half. Three points were pulled back through fly-half Tom Smith and the phases and use of territory began to improve.

However, try as they might, Sandal could not master the wet conditions as handling errors cost them dear.

Another try from the forwards extended Rossendale’s lead to 29-3 before an unfortunate defensive slip by the visitors allowed the hosts to waltz through just before the final whistle for their sixth and final try.

Darlington MP 29 Bradford & Bingley 17

A SECOND consecutive defeat has left the Bees floundering second from bottom of the table with three games played.

However, it is far too early in a long season to read too much into that league position as there are enough talented players in the Bees squad to turn the season around.

Indeed, despite being second best for long periods of this contest, Martin Whitcombe’s men were still battling to gain something from this game as regulation time ticked on to the 80-minute mark when the Bees were awarded a penalty try which brought them to within five points of their hosts and which would have at least earned a losing bonus point to take back to Wagon Lane.

However, four minutes later, deep into stoppage time, a wayward pass from Giles Hetherington was snapped up by Mowden Park, who returned the ball with interest to claim their fourth score and deprive the Bees of that bonus point, which would have helped them draw level with Altrincham Kersal, Beverley, Sandal and Lymm.

Stand-off Grant Connon tacked on the conversion of his own try to claim 14 points on the day, but he was not the home side’s top scorer as that honour went to Mowden Park loose-head prop Danny Dixon, who claimed three five-pointers to lead his side to a thoroughly deserved victory.

Dixon crossed on 15, 45 and 58 minutes, but, in truth, the home side should have been home and dry by half-time such was their domination of territory and possession.

A string of handling errors kept the scoreboard from ticking over and the Bees must have believed they might have been able to steal something from this game as they had weathered the first half storm as the sides turned round at 10-3.

Richard Scull prodded and prompted well from scrum-half for the Bees, but that attacking spark from Scull never really turned into a flame as the home side largely held the upper hand.

The Bees did pull within five points of their hosts 10 minutes into the second half as Gavin Stead crossed for a score and added a conversion but Whitcombe’s men are not yet firing on all cylinders and their tough start to the season continues on Saturday as they face high-flying Birkenhead Park.