Cleckheaton
L 3-24
League
04-12-2021
Scarborough - 1st XV
By Charlie Hopper
Scarborough slipped to a frustrating 24-3 defeat, on the road, at Cleckheaton on Saturday.
Fly-half Tom Ratcliffe made his 250th appearance for the club and his side got off to the worst possible start with Cleck taking a 3-0 lead from the boot of Tom Breakwell. The home side extended their lead in the sixth minute with a converted try. The ball was offloaded out wide before Brad Marsden broke clear to score in the corner. Breakwell added the conversion for a 10-0 lead. Scarborough then looked to change the momentum and won a penalty inside the opposition half to reduce the lead. Ratcliffe stepped up and made light work of the kick. Cleck then won another penalty in the 13th minute from an offside and Breakwell continued his fine form to give his side a 13-3 lead. Head coach Matty Jones will have been wondering how his side didn’t score their first try of the game, twice coming close in the 15th and 17th minute. In the 34th minute, Cleck stretched their lead even further with another penalty kick in front of the posts.
The second-half started in a similar fashion with Cleck powering over following early dominance. Their scrum picked up momentum and the ball was moved out to Olly Depledge, who scored in the corner. Breakwell missed the conversion, but his side had a comfortable 21-3 lead. New recruit Dylan Robinson was the stand out in defence for the Siler Royd outfit, who spent long periods penned into their own half. The final action of the game, came in the 80th minute. Breakwell kicked an easy penalty to give his side a 24-3 victory and stay in fifth position in the North One East table.
For Matty Jones side, they welcome high flyers Moortown to Silver Royd on Saturday, as they look to bounce back from two consecutive defeats.