Malton and Norton's progress to the second round of the Powergen Vase was sealed with a second-half try blitz against a plucky Knaresborough side, who posed a few problems in the opening period, particularly in the pack.
The opening score came after five minutes when the Malton backs stretched their legs for the first time. The ball was swept along the line to right winger Liam Cowton, who used his strength and pace to force his way over in the corner. Will Barber added to the tally with a penalty as Knaresborough struggled to come to terms with Malton's pace and the stricter refereeing of tackles. However, the home side kept battling and were rewarded with a penalty to raise their hopes.
The Malton backs were always going to be a handful and it was only a matter of time before the floodgates opened.
Skipper Chris Creber was next to score with the first of his four tries. Although having problems in the set scrums, the Malton lineout was working well and, with the forwards always first to the breakdown, possession was plentiful.
Next up was number eight forward James McKay, who bagged his now customary try. The only slight blip was when Knaresborough knocked over a second penalty and reduced the deficit even further with a well-deserved forwards try.
From that point on, there was only one side going to take the spoils as Malt moved up a gear. Creber added his second score after a great break from debutant hooker Stephen Piercy, who had the presence of mind and handling skills to put his captain in. Barber converted two of the first-half tries to give Malton and Norton a 16-point cushion at the break.
From the restart, Malton were quickly onto the offensive. When Tim Chapman romped over for his first try, the stuffing seemed to disappear from the plucky home side. The visitors' handling and running became more confident and some exhilarating tries resulted.
First, Barber showed great skills in wriggling past a number of defenders before sprinting clear from halfway to score beneath the posts. Chapman again crossed the line and fellow centre Will Jones then followed with a beautiful side-step to put himself in the clear and slice through for his share of the scoring.
Ian Cooke then showed his skills on the left wing by beating a couple of defenders before cleverly chipping over the defence and recovering the ball to touch down in the corner.
Creber then took almost permanent possession and revelled in the freedom created by a tired Knaresborough side. He crossed for two further tries. Coach Pat Stephenson entered the fray for the closing minutes and had the pleasure of solidly anchoring the Malton scrummage for the first time during the game and proving that there may still be some life in the old dog yet.
Knaresborough should be applauded for sticking to the task throughout but the pace which runs right through the Malton side was far too much for them to handle.
The game will have given Malton more confidence in their all-round skills before the home league tussles with West Leeds next week and Ripon the following week. The only real area of concern is the set scrummage but the work is being put in to improve this area in training.
Updated: 09:36 Wednesday, September 25, 2002
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