1st XV

L 17-20

League

14-03-2020

Morley

By Ch

A late Mark Chester penalty sinks Scarborough at Silver Royd.

Scarborough were left to rue missed chances as a spirited fightback from Morley sank Simon Smith’s side to a 20-17 defeat at Silver Royd.

Simon Smith welcomed Angus Frend, Jordan Holloway and Phil Watson into the starting team and his side had to show their resilience in defence and managed to keep the visitors out. In the 8^th minute, a quickly taken penalty from Jordan Wakeham presented Angus Frend with the opportunity to crash over in the corner. Tom Ratcliffe converted from the corner to give his side the perfect start at 7-0. Scarborough extended the lead with an unconverted try in the 12^th minute courtesy of Jonty Holloway, who found his way through the defence to score in the corner. At 12-0, the home side were dominating proceedings, coming close on numerous occasions but failing to find the crucial final pass. In the 34^th minute Morley registered their first points of the afternoon. The ball was moved out wide and full-back Jason Kenneally found his way over the tryline. Mark Chester’s conversion hit the post to leave the score at 12-5. Chester was called into action on the stroke of half-time but his relatively straight forward penalty kick drifted wide of the posts.

The second-half begun with Sam Patterson receiving the game’s first yellow card and Ratcliffe looked to add the three points only for his kick to strike the posts and bounce clear. Ms Parsonage then started to penalise Smith’s side and in the 52^nd minute Euan Govier was given a harsh yellow card for a tackle on a Morley player. The Scatcherd Lane outfit used the extra man to their advantage and scored a converted try in the 54^th minute. Nick Green broke through the defence and raced clear to score and draw the game level at 12-12. The momentum continued to shift, but it was Scarborough who regained the lead in the 60^th minute. The ball was threaded wide and Frend collected and scored his second try of the game. Ratcliffe’s penalty fell agonisingly short of the posts to stretch the lead to 17-12. The game was brought level again just minutes later as replacement Greiogair Hogg crossed over the try line for another unconverted try. As the nerves began to build at Silver Royd, the visitors looked likely to pick up a penalty and they did just that. Joe Nellist was penalised for an infringement at the ruck and Chester made easy work of the penalty. With just seconds remaining, Scarborough won a lineout but eventually lost the ball and the referee brought the game to an end. The loss means that Drew Govier’s side slip down to 8^th with an increased uncertainty on when we will next see North One East action.