Pontefract 22 Beverley 3

Pontefract 22 Beverley 3

It was a cold and windy day at Moor Lane, with Ponte having to work hard against traditionally tough opponents from East Yorkshire. Playing into the wind first half, Ponte showed how much their game management has improved by controlling possession with a tight game plan which needed to be good as loss of possession generally meant been pegged back by a long kick. It is the time of year when teams are generally struggling with injuries, suspensions and unavailability and it is no different for Ponte, whose squad depth is really been tested. Things weren’t helped with the loss to injury of player coach Craig Fawcett in the first few minutes, tackled from behind without the ball stopping a great try scoring opportunity, after a tremendous break by centre Andy Coleman. Been so early in the game the ref gave the tackler the benefit of the doubt as far as a yellow card goes but Ponte had to reshuffle with no backs on the bench.

Pontes scrum has been magnificent this season and Ponte gave their opponents a testing by opting to take scrums at every opportunity, which also took vital time out of the game into the wind. Credit to the Beverley pack who took everything the Ponte pack could throw at them. The young props are still learning and coming up against good experienced props will only aid their development. From one scrum near the line number eight Calum Rodgers scored but the referee was blindsided and could not give the try. This did not stop Ponte who battered the line with Bailly ‘Baz’ Matthews standing out with some forceful drives. With the big lads unable to force their way over it was left to the slighter built fly half Liam Kay to show them how its done taking several would be defenders on his back to register a converted try under the posts.

The kick off lead to territorial advantage to Bev and an infringement at the break down gave them the chance to pull the score back to 7-3 with a penalty. That advantage was short lived however as Ponte were soon back up the other end and managed to see the half out without conceding any more points.

With the wind at their backs Ponte were expecting big things second half, however, this never really materialised as a failing line out and a Bev side who gave an excellent display of ‘keep ball’ denied Ponte possession and drew a series of penalties, mainly at the breakdown, which in turn lead to two yellow cards. That said, the defence was excellent and Beverley never looked like scoring.

When Ponte did get some decent possession, they looked dangerous. A blockbuster drive from Tad Nyanjowa gave Kay the chance to put a penalty over and take the score to 10-3. A try soon followed as a crashing Sam Millard drive broke the gain line and allowed the backs to put full back Richard Hossack a yard short. There was no panic and good recycling allowed outstanding Calum Rodgers to pick and drive over the line to make the score 15-3.

What followed was a period of intense frustration for Ponte, only broken when Kaye kicked through for Richard Dedicoat, who looked dangerous all afternoon, to dribble his way over for a converted try. The search for the fourth try scoring bonus point came to nought as a long raking touch finder from Kaye, which would have presented a good opportunity, just went dead and Bev saw the game out by shoving the ball up their jumpers for five minutes. With so many key players out a four point haul was perfectly acceptable as Ponte strengthened their position in the top three. Man of the match went to unsung hero Nial Sandwith for an industrious performance, whilst hooker Tim Pickersgill was not far behind.