MALTON & NORTON were left wondering what might have been after squandering a 16-point lead at home to Old Brodleians to lose by the narrowest of margins in the Regional Two North East last weekend.

There was perhaps surprise when the game went ahead despite two days of  Storm Babet’s incessant rain, but the visitors needed little time to fire themselves ahead.
Having won the initial kick with a net gain of 25 metres, a 15-metre drive for the line produced the first five points of the match inside three minutes.

Malton looked to hit back instantaneously but dropped the final pass, then losing the pacey Tom Barker to injury.

Nonetheless, the hosts opened their account with 12 minutes played, Blair Foster dotting down after an orthodox move through the backs before the extras were added.

With 65 per cent possession coupled to 80 per cent territory, Malton started to make inroads, Shane Poole running onto a perfect ball from the returning Ben Tenge to extend their lead to nine.

Minutes later, a long-range penalty attempt went wide but Malton soon added to their total when Ali Fothergill demonstrated his capabilities bursting out of his own half before strolling across the line.

Brods, second in the table, soon hit back though, bamboozling the home defence to provide an easy seven points for their winger on the half-hour mark.

Fothergill was the next Malton casualty as he departed with a leg injury with half time beckoning, but his side did extend their lead before the break, the ball transferred via a neat show of hands, John Vasconcelos the grateful beneficiary to add another seven points to their total.

But it was the visitors who came out firing after the interval, with Malton struggling to contain their mobile eight.

In the 42nd minute, a kick beat a lacklustre home defence to give Brods a route back into the game before Poole slotted a rare Malton penalty wide.

The hosts were next to score, Jacob Stephenson intercepting a pass before running 45 metres with just less than half an hour still to play.

But a yellow card to Darren Leggott proved costly, Malton shell-shocked into conceding 19 points during the 10-minute duration of the card to bring the scores within three.

Malton had become a shadow of their first-half performance, and squandered further points from the tee before Brods took advantage of another five points on offer from close range to lead by eight with four minutes remaining.

Brute strength paid dividends as the visitors had the last laugh, but a penalty try awarded to Sam Triffitt proved to be not quite enough as they fell to an agonising 43-42 defeat.