Beverley ARLFC Show Great Heart But Suffer Defeat On The Road

Beverley ARLFC did show glimpses of what they are capable of in this fixture but never managed to build sufficient momentum.

West Bowling crossed for tries at crucial stages of the game when it seemed Beverley were at their most dangerous.

A swirling wind and occasional showers made conditions difficult for both sides. In addition, the absence of linesmen who mysteriously failed to turn up made the game a difficult one to referee. 

West Bowling took the lead after 5 minutes when their winger Ellis Bentley scored in the corner despite the protestations from Beverley that he had put a foot into touch. 

Oliver Bartle added a further score improved by Harry Williams before Beverley countered with a 50-metre break out of defence by Alex Starling which set up the position for more pressure which failed to bring points. 

Louis Frazer further extended the hosts lead to 14-0 before Beverley hit back. The referee finally lost patience with West Bowling’s lying on tactics at the play the ball and sin-binned a player. A long pass then by Lewis Poskitt then sent Peter Starling over wide out for Josh Poskitt to convert. On the stroke of half-time, Harry Williams added a penalty to extend the West bowling advantage to 16-6.

Beverley looked in the ascendancy in the early moments of the second half as they forced a line-drop out and appeared to have scored when Lewis Poskitt forced the ball to go come loose and fed Josh Poskitt for a try in the corner but the referee appeared to blow hastily for a knock-on. 

Beverley Refused To Give Up Pushing West Bowling All The Way

Then against the run of play, West Bowling broke clear from in their own 20 and it took a tremendous cover tackle from Lewis Miller to prevent a score. A quick play the ball though did see Ben Heald go over with extras added.

Beverley replied quickly as they regained possession from the restart. After a few forays, Alex Calvert did well to charge through several tackles to score. Josh Poskitt converted. A converted Ben Heald try for the West Bowling then cancelled this out. 

Lewis Poskitt then sent Josh Poskitt over wide out before West Bowling scored again through Liam Frazer improved by Williams to stretch their lead to 34-16 with 13 minutes remaining.

Surrender was not in the script for the visitors and they regained possession once again from the restart.  Bobby Howdle went close before Lewis Straw’s long pass sent Sam Coleman over wide out. The conversion was not added but Beverley’s try of the match soon followed.

Alex Calvert’s break from deep saw him feed Josh Poskitt who fed Lewis Poskitt on his inside to score. Josh Poskitt’s conversion brought the scores to 34-26.

Harry Williams then extinguished hopes of a dramatic finale with a try converted by himself. He then added a penalty just before the final whistle for a 42-26 score-line which seemed harsh on Beverley.

Beverley’s man of the match was Peter Starling who caught the eye with some important tackles and strong running.