Pontefract 26 v Bridlington 17

Pontefract 26 v Bridlington 17

There were sighs of relief all around Moor Lane on Saturday as Ponte pulled off a much needed maximum bonus points victory against fellow relegation strugglers Bridlington. Though the season has thus far been a disappointment results wise, with the possible exception of Beverley at home, there has been no shortage of effort all season, be it in victory or defeat. This is credit to the team spirit coach Craig Fawcett has built up in recent years. On the back of this togetherness and a good turnout at training through the week, Ponte looked hungry in defence and ran with purpose which tested the Brid defence all day.

It didn’t look great early on though as Brid took an early lead with a converted try. Fears that it was going to be a bad day for Ponte were soon dispelled as Rasher Bacon scythed through from first phase ball to offload to second row Niall Sandwith who ran twenty metres to score an unconverted try.

At five seven down Ponte were soon on the attack again. Following good play in the backs the forwards took control of the ball near the line and burly young prop Josh Hough proved again his ability to break a solid defence from short range with a try from a pick and drive. The try was unconverted but a Kaye penalty extended the lead soon after.

That penalty was followed by a Brid try as the occasional missed tackles let down their otherwise excellent defence. After that it was all Ponte, several try scoring chances were missed but with half time looming Ponte struck again. Slick handling in the backs put the returning Richard Dedicoat away down the wing. With the defence piling across he put in a tremendous cross kick for try scoring machine Stuart Sanderson to touch down on the follow up. Once again the difficult conversion was missed.

It looked as if that would be half time but from a clearing kick Liam Kaye was taken out late and from the resulting melee Sanderson added to Pontes woeful disciplinary record with a straight red. The Brid player got a yellow which meant Ponte had to play the last thirty minutes a man down. Half time 18 – 12.

The second half was a scrappy affair with Pontes line speed in defence causing Brid handling errors. One crunching tackle from Dedicoat was one to remember as it prevented a try scoring opportunity for Brid. In attack the back row pair of Sam Millard and Tad Nyanjowa broke through tackles at will with Tad continuing his outstanding season.

The second half deadlock was broken with the try of the game. The ball was worked to young winger Ciaran Tucker who showed a remarkable turn of speed to leave would be defenders grasping for fresh air. The conversion was missed again but there after Ponte dominated territory and a Kaye penalty following an excellent turnover from Dave Findlay made a late Brid consolation try unimportant.

The match ended with humour as prop Hough confirmed the notion that props should never kick the ball. It was the last play of the game and his pathetic attempted touch finder went straight to Rasher who made a forty yard break. Sense prevailed soon after and the game was won.

It was a great team effort with James Griffin and Andrew Fenton helping provide a solid foundation in a dominant pack. In the backs Boyd proved an excellent second line of defence and player coach Fawcett was at his dangerous best.

This saturday is Beverley away and gives the team the chance to avenge the embarrassing drubbing they received earlier in the season