Lewis Poskitt Drop-Goal Secures Beverley’s Third Consecutive Win

A Lewis Poskitt drop-goal in the 80th minute separated the two sides in this tense arm-wrestle.

Even then Beverley ARLFC had to endure an agonising  6 minutes of stoppage time in which the visitors hit back with a converted try which thankfully was the cue for the full-time whistle to be sounded. 

 In charge for the day Tony Spence commented;

“These were 2 very hard-earned points indeed. When you only complete 56% of your sets, have 16 penalties awarded against you of which 7 were for high tackles plus team warnings, you kind of understand what a tough afternoon this was.”

This third successive win which has taken Beverley into 6th position was achieved with a number of first team regulars missing. Ben Atkin, Bradley Kirkby, Tom Moor, Billy Riby, Jordan Precious and Sam Coleman were all notable absentees. Defending was certainly top drawer and it was a day for those who wanted to grind out the hard yards. Typically, Ryan Watkin, the man of the match Alex Calvert and Jake Hart-Fisher earned the plaudits here.

The hosts dominated possession aided by penalties in the opening minutes before the visitors warmed to the task. After 15 minutes of play, Alex Paddock sent Will Wallis in the clear from deep in his own half. The young winger was taken out with a high tackle. The resulting set then saw Lewis Poskitt sidestep his way to a try for Lewis Straw to add the extras. Very shortly after a sharp pass from dummy half saw Steve Connolly crash over for Straw again to convert. 

At this stage, there were opportunities to kill the game. Bobby Howdle got over the line but lost the ball under a pile of defenders. Also, an accurate cross-field kick from Poskitt found Will Wallis in space who was unlucky to not catch the ball and touch down. The home side enjoyed more possession and territory heading for the break and Beverley scrambled well in defence and hung on to their 12-0 advantage. 

Early moments of the second half saw Poskitt send Alex Calvert in the clear to touch down under the posts only to be pulled back for a forward pass which was a marginal decision.  The home side continued to enjoy a lions share of possession in the second half. In between times, there were again some chances to kill the game. Bobby Howdle got over on one occasion but was unable to ground the ball. 

In the 66th minute, in one of the game’s few clean breaks the Askam the half-back sneaked away from dummy-half in his own half to draw the full back and send Sam Broadly over. Christian Tyson converted and from then on it was backs to the wall stuff for the visitors, as the home side cheered on by a partisan crowd sensed the opportunity to snatch the points.

At the other end, Lewis Straw saw a drop-goal attempt hit the post before Lewis Poskitt hit the target as injury time loomed. Owen Bridle did cross for the home side converted by Tyson but there was no time left to re-start the game.

Beverley will now have a fortnights rest before facing title favourites Ince Rose Bridge at the Leisure Centre on June 1st. This has been changed to a 12.30pm kick-off due to the European Champions League Final.

Final Score: Askam 12 Beverley ARLFC 13