A GAME OF TWO HALVES
James Knock
The draw to this Papa John cup threw Malton up against league rivals Bridlington who will be playing a division lower in 24/25. The league meetings resulted in two wins for Malton with a total of 61 points to 13, so today’s trip to the seaside with a strong squad whilst not a formality had the coaches and committee members in buoyant mood with a home second round draw as the reward.
Malton kicked off in perfect conditions with a stiff breeze blowing mainly across the pitch and Fothergill with a swift follow up immediately put pressure on the home side. A half break by Jones at fly half resulted in a penalty to Malton for failure to release after the tackle and Angus slotted the 3 points in the fourth minute. 3-0
Two minutes later the above scenario was repeated. 6-0
Five minutes of constant pressure in the Bridlington red zone and a forward drive over the whitewash saw Boothman claiming the try well converted by Angus in the eleventh minute. 13-0
In the opening 15 minutes of this encounter the hosts had only visited the Malton half 3 times from restarts.
In minute 20 after a clean line out catch and drive of fully 15 metres the ball was released to Foan who cut inside to complete a try straight from the training pitch. 18-0
In the 23rd minute Malton were for a change on defensive duties but Bridlington gave up a penalty for young Jones to put in a 50 metre clearance kick.
Four minutes later Bridlington put together their first constructive attack which took them to the Malton 5 metre area only for the door to be slammed shut in their faces by a solid visiting defence.
In the 29th minute Fothergill on the end of a long very flat pass blitzed his way down the tramlines unmolested to score a converted try. 25-0
This was followed 3 minutes later by Jones showing the ball and ghosting through the gap for a solo try again converted. 32-0
In the 37th minute Bridlington opened their account after a succession of penalties given up by Malton and the halftime score line of 32-7 put Malton firmly in the driving seat.
The second half opened with the visiting supporters in fine voice as Tenge made 50 metres knocking over all challengers and putting Malton in the home 20 metre zone. This was the highlight of the opening 30 minutes of this second half of the game as there followed a frustrating period of rugby with both sides to a lesser or greater degree squandering position and possession with a series of basic errors and the giving up of unnecessary penalties.
A flurry of activity in the final minutes of a long and somewhat tedious period of rugby saw Johnson score a 7 pointer followed by Bridlington sweeping downfield fully 60 metres to collect a converted try. 39-14
Then most bizarrely a blatant tackle on Upton as he chased a Bulmer chip through to the home line resulted in the referee looping round to a position under the sticks and awarding a penalty try 46-14 to bring to a conclusion a second half that some spectators found so boring that they sought excitement inside watching the racing from Aintree!
Next week we are drawn at home to Stockton who defeated Middlesbrough in their opening round. I hope to see a good crowd to cheer the boys on as they seek to extend the season nearer to the end of April.
Malton: Sam Triffitt (c), John Vasconcelos, Ben Boothman, Sean Emms, Will Dunn, Ben Tenge, Ted Wainwright, Tom Lowry, Paul Angus, Jack Jones, Javan Upton, Jacob Stephenson, Tom Foan, Ali Fothergill, Blair Foster,
Subs: (all used) Nick Salisbury, Archie Johnson, James Bulmer, Henry Cornforth.
Scorers: Boothman 1 try
Foan 1 try
Fothergill 1 try
Jones 1 try
Johnson 1 try
Penalty Try
Angus 2 pens, 4 cons.
