Yorkshire Two. West Leeds 19pts, Malton and Norton 16 - MALTON were left to lick their wounds after leading this match for 84 of the 85 minutes played. They lost to a last-minute try in a game which provided the spectators with some very good and committed rugby from both sides.
Malton had Jason Simpson making his debut at full back and Steve Piercy was pressed into emergency action at scrum half following the late withdrawal of Jon Newsome with a neck injury. Both can be proud of their performance and Simpson, along with flanker Andy Mitchell, was possibly Malton's man of the match.
Malton began with more fire than of late and were quickly on the offensive through some good forward drives and sensible back play. Simpson was immediately involved and can count himself unlucky not have scored when he broke free. After five minutes of Malton pressure, centre Will Barber gained possession 20 metres out and forced his way through to score and open Malton's account. The trusty boot of Ian Cooke added the conversion.
West Leeds were never going to be a pushover, as their almost identical league record to Malton was testament, and soon narrowed the gap through their dangerous back division. The conversion failed and Malton's slender lead was intact. Back came Malton and, after some further good probing play, they forced West Leeds to concede a penalty 47 metres out for handling in a ruck. Up stepped Ian Cooke to calmly slot the ball between the posts to extend his side's lead with a magnificent kick.
Through the sensible tactic, from Chris Creber and Barber, of kicking for position and keeping the hosts on the back foot, Malton were able to maintain territorial advantage for long periods. The back row of David Cooke, James McKay and Mitchell were able to harass the home half backs into a series of errors. Again a penalty was conceded and Cooke added the points to give Malton a deserved half-time lead.
Malton kept up the pressure in the second half and again forced the home side to concede a penalty for offside 40 metres out. With another prodigious kick into the wind, Cooke extended Malton's lead. At this stage, most of those present expected Malton to accelerate away. However, West Leeds had other ideas. Always willing to take the ball to Malton they gained position near the right touchline and the pack drove over the Malton line to get the touchdown. The successful conversion meant they were now only four points adrift.
Malton almost broke free through Mitchell with a strong break from his own 22 metre area which saw him crash through several tackles before being halted on halfway. Unfortunately, the ball was knocked on as the support arrived and the chance was lost.
With the 80 minutes having elapsed, it looked as though Malton would hold out for a deserved victory. However, as in recent weeks, the rub of the green was against them. In the fifth minute of injury time, West Leeds had a line-out five metres from the Malton line. A clean catch and drive provided the platform for a march to the line and the winning try. The conversion was successful and Malton's luck had again run out.
Updated: 10:44 Wednesday, February 12, 2003
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