Sandal left searching for elusive win despite fightback but Bees impress to stun leaders

It was a game of two halves with visitors Rossendale having by far the better of the first spell and setting a decent tally for Sandal to try to claw back.

Centre Dan McCormack put the hosts ahead with a penalty early on but from that juncture the Rossendale pack started to make their mark.

Some powerful driving and good ball retention brought them three tries in a similar vein, all from close range and all pinning back the hosts’ defence.

Two conversions added to the score and the visitors held a healthy 19-3 lead at the break.

After the break, McCormack pulled back three points with a penalty and with 20 minutes remaining the gap was reduced to eight points.

Winger Jake Mulhern found the space to jink his way in but, with the conversion missed, another two scores were needed.

Sandal had the better of the final quarter but were guilty of making too many errors in important positions. Lock Tom Proctor went closest with a driving burst but was stripped of the ball just inches from the line.

After a closely-fought first half Beverley eased away after the break to secure a comfortable victory in a match both sides badly needed to win.

Beverley took an early lead with a try by full-back Richard Bussey following a 30-metre burst through the middle by centre Junior Tupai.

After an earlier miss, Morley winger Simon Brashaw was successful with a second penalty attempt when Beverley were caught offside in front of their posts but his penalty was immediately cancelled out by one from Beverley fly-half Phil Duboulay.

Beverley led 8-3 at the interval and the result remained in the balance until 15 minutes into the second half when Beverley increased their lead with a catch and drive try touched down by lock Gavin Gibson. Duboulay converted to take Beverley 12 points clear.

Throughout the second half Beverley made good use of the stiff wind to keep Morley on the defensive and eventually their pressure brought another try from Tupai following a slick crossfield move by the Beverley backs.

Morley fought to the end to get back into a match which remained hard fought and robust to the end and produced four yellow cards, one for Beverley and three for Morley.

Bradford & Bingley followed up their win over second-placed Chester with an even better performance to beat league leaders Darlington Mowden Park – and after playing the last hour of the game with just 14 men.

The game was won by a drop-goal from Giles Hetherington in stoppage time and was the reward the home pack deserved.

Park intermittently showed some of the the form which has taken them to the top of the division but, on this showing, they do have an Achilles heel which the home side exploited, piling pressure on their front row whenever possible.

It got so bad for the visitors that a penalty try was awarded against them in the 54th minute.

All the visitors points came from first-half penalties, slotted by full-back Grant Connon as the Bees scrambled to keep the visitors at bay.

When the Bees did get on the scoresheet it was a score that will be long remembered at Wagon Lane. After 15 minutes it appeared that every player and the referee were involved in a huddle disputing a Bees penalty on the right-hand touchline, when Richard Tafa suddenly took a quick tap penalty to himself then launched a huge punt across the field towards the far upright.

It seemed only Tafa had spotted Hetherington on the left wing and as the ball flew across the face of the posts the crowd suddenly spotted him as he caught the bal to touch down unopposed.

However, once the Bees knew they had the upper-hand in the tight the game plan was evident.

At every opportunity the ball was fed to Phil Greaves, who would launch the ball deep into the muddy corners of the Wagon Lane pitch and let his forwards get to work. There may not have been a significant move in open play after that, but it remains a truly memorable performance.