RUGBY LEAGUE : Blue and Golds Beaten in West Yorkshire

The blue and golds made this trip to the Pennines with a huge absentee list and can take heart from a brave performance in which they were beaten for pace out wide. Pat Howdle had some re-shuffling of his side to in order to make it competitive. Jack Howdle and Ben Naylor formed a half back combination. Dan Clarke and Lee Stevens were recalled to the front row, and a debut was handed to Stuart Nell in the second row.

A youthful home side showed their intent very early on. In the 5th minute, the ball was shipped out to the right for their winger to go 60 meters to score. Beverley did regain possession from the restart kick, and a useful set of six was well defended by the hosts. Siddal increased their lead with the ball being re-gathered from a chip ahead before Beverley replied. As the home side coughed up possession close to their own line, it allowed a spell of pressure for the visitors. This ended with Stuart Nell forcing his way over for a debut try. Siddal added another try before Jack Howdle’s neat little kick into the in goal area saw Steve Connolly pounce to score. The visitors were now enjoying a good attacking spell and almost took the lead when Ben Naylor broke away but was pulled back for an obstruction in the move.

Siddal absorbed the pressure and worked their way up-field to add a further two tries to lead 26-12 at the break. They further increased their lead early in the second half before Beverley started to enjoy some improved territory and possession. A good surge by Stuart Nell who had an impressive debut saw him get a pass away that was knocked down by a Siddal defender but regathered by Mathew Thompson to score out wide. The difficult conversion was added by Steve Connolly.

The pendulum swung the way of the home side again aided by a few penalties for back chatting. A try was added to increase their lead. However, there was no shortage of spirit from the visitors who were not afraid to throw the ball about. They soon got their rewards with their best try of the match. Ben Naylor broke away fed Jack Howdle, who in turn fed the supporting Stuart Nell, who went under the posts for a second try. The extras were added and with the score at 24-36, there was still life in the game with 15 minutes to go.

Siddal were getting a little anxious at this point and when awarded a penalty within range elected to kick. The penalty was converted, and a three score lead was too much for Beverley with just 10 minutes remaining. They added a further converted try in the closing minutes to give a 44-24 score which was a little harsh on the visitor’s efforts. Man of the match was Jake Hart-Fisher, who gave it a real go in the second half with some bustling runs. Stuart Nell and the ever hard-working Steve Connolly were also in the running.

The blue and golds are again on the road this Saturday when they travel to play Hillsborough Hawks. The Sheffield outfit are bottom of Yorkshire Division One with no wins so far this season whilst Beverley now lie in fifth position. The bus for players and supporters departs from the Hodgson’s at 12pm. Kick-off is 2.30pm.

Final Score : Siddal ‘A’ 44  Beverley ARLC 24 | Reported by Nick Robinson