Late drop goal is cruel on Sandal as struggling Beverley are made to suffer on the road again

The home side were forced to work off scraps as Birkenhead dominated possession and racked up a nine-point lead with three penalties before Sandal finally registered on the scoreboard.

With 30 minutes gone, home supporters had something to cheer when a dropped ball set up a diagnonal run for winger Alex Orr to score in the corner and make it 9-5.

The score remained the same going into the second half but a sin-binning in the forwards cost the home side dear.

A scrum in front of the posts resulted in a penalty try for Birkenhead, putting them 16-5 ahead. Winger Tom Hodson pulled back three points with a penalty before Orr grabbed his second try.

With four minutes left, a second Hodson penalty levelled the scores at 16-16.

However, from the restart Sandal dropped the ball, resulting in a scrum, and the opposition settled themselves to slot a winning drop-goal.

BRADFORD and Bingley again showed their inconsistency, despite dominating early on with Steve Brimacombe, Gavin Stead and Giles Hetherington all threatening the home line.

With their first venture into the Bees’ 22, Rossendale were on the scoreboard. Prop Leyton Taylor ricocheted off a couple of tacklers to barrel home under the posts, with Steve Nutt adding the extras.

The home side began to pour forward through the mud and with 29 minutes gone their lead was increased as Nutt landed a delightfully-weighted kick for Alisdair Harper to slide home.

The Bees hung on until half-time and it appeared that whoever scored first might be able to gain the advantage in a balanced contest.

The Bees came out for the second half and threw everything into the opening exchanges, with their efforts rewarded after 43 minutes when captain Guy Ford ploughed over the line.

It looked like the Bees were set to haul back Rossendale, but it was not to be as a succession of promising attacks floundered in the hands of the Bees backline, who seemed suddenly incapable of giving and receiving a pass.

Rossendale sealed the win with a well-executed move from left to right which allowed Zyl Wynard to dive in for the score, which was converted by Nutt.

MORLEY paid the price for a slow start and the concession of four tries in the final half hour as table-toppers Darlington eased to a comfortable triumph.

The hosts were 13-3 down after just 13 minutes but despite conceding two tries so early they managed to steady the ship and reached the interval without suffering any further damage.

Seven minutes into the second half, things looked brighter for the Maroons when the forwards bulldozed their way over, prop Paul Gabriel dropping on the ball, winger Simon Bradshaw converting. But the visitors extended their advantage to 18-10 when scrum-half Todd Harrison scored four minutes later.

Weak tackling allowed the visitors in for their fourth try. Two tries and a conversion on 70 and 75 minutes confirmed Darlington’s superiority.

STRUGGLING Beverley suffered another loss but the margin of defeat was a touch harsh.

Beverley made a good fight of it with David Worrall outstanding at No 8, but generally their pack could not match the drive and aggression of the home forwards.

The defining moment came 10 minutes from the break when Beverley were already trailing 13-3 through a try by Andrew Trotter and two penalties and a conversion by Liam Reeve, with Beverley’s points having come from the boot of Phil Duboulay.

A careless pass from the scrum allowed Waterloo flanker Dan Palmer to pounce and race clear for a converted try taking the home side out of sight.

Beverley scored on the stroke of half-time through scrum-half Chris Infield, but they were never again able to get back into the game.

Duboulay did kick a penalty early in the second half reducing it to 20-11 and briefly giving them hope but Waterloo responded with a second Trotter try and another Reeve penalty.

With the last action, centre Gary Lunt crossed in the corner to secure a bonus point for Waterloo.