MALTON PACK EXPOSE AND RIP OPEN DRIFFIELD UNDERBELLY

James Knock

With storm Ciara waiting in the wings,  Malton in as good a second half performance as has been witnessed in a long while at the Gannock battered third placed Driffield to earn a long awaited victory in front of a crowd of 400; the last win over our rivals and friends was posted as far back as 1/10/2016.
After three disappointing league games with below par performances Malton took the field showing a few changes, notably with skipper Sam Triffitt a concussion casualty at training, Ali Fothergill in the virus laden Far East, Liam Vaughn unavailable, it fell to acting skipper Matt Bowman to fill in at no8, Nick Salisbury a recall at prop and after several Saturdays either in the seconds or as unused sub a start for the patient Nathan Pratt.
Within 2 minutes of the start Malton were in a situation to open the scoring with centre Tom Hoggard positioned for a clear run to the sticks only for Malton's hooker to take the tackle and go to ground; chance wasted. The first penalty of the game was awarded to Driffield with Malton not releasing the man after the tackle on 8 minutes. Driffield took advantage and set up position for a 7 pointer scored by their no13 on 11 minutes.
Moments later the above mentioned was involved in a heavy tackle on his opposite number Hoggard with both physios on the pitch for several minutes making their assessments, and satisfied they left both players to continue.
On 16 minutes Malton had a shot at goal following a high tackle, the kick rebounding for Driffield to clear their lines. Eight minutes later another attempt drifted wide.
At this stage of the game both packs were evenly matched at breakdown with Malton having the nudge at scrum time. In midfield heavy duty tackling by Jacob Stephenson kept Driffield at bay and patience was rewarded following Driffield's no4 taking a team yellow on the fourth consecutive penalty on 37 minutes. Four minutes later after several scrums the reward came with a trademark close range try for Rob Featherstone converted by James Bulmer. Seven apiece at half time and it should be mentioned that Malton had squandered three clear two on ones, missed 2 penalties, a total of 21 points not counting the possible 6 conversion points.
The half time team talk from coach Creber and missing skipper Sam Triffitt had immediate effect with as already mentioned a near flawless second half performance from all 17 squad members.
On 44 minutes Driffield wheeled their own put in and Paul Angus cleverly stole the ball passed to Bowman who in turn fed Bulmer to score and covert his own try. Eleven minutes later following intense pressure and with Driffield on the ropes Featherstone crashed over for his brace again converted.
On 60 minutes Stephenson failed his H.I.A. and a shuffle round was organised with Bowman moving to midfield and Jack Hobbs moving to no8 with Sean Emms coming off the bench to replace Charlie Read at lock.
Driffield it should be acknowledged stayed in the game but suffered one of those days when converting possession into points deserted them.
With the Malton section of the crowd in good voice on 72 minutes a break by Hobbs was fed to Bulmer whose controlled overhead pass to Will Bell was dotted down for another 7 pointer to close the scoring for the day. It was satisfying to see the patient sub Nathan Pratt given a start and apart from one show of nerves play his part covering his wing and supporting any breaks down his side of the pitch.
Mention should be made of former Malton junior George Breese who came on at lock for Scotland U20'sin the 63rd minute in a close encounter with their English counterparts.
Next week a trip to the West Riding awaits and after today's performance we need to keep our foot on the throttle and earn some league points especially when a look at the table reveals Pocklington and Durham City below us both with a game in hand  and only 5 and 10 points the difference respectively.
See you at Scatcherd Lane, Morley!

Malton:  Will Bell,  Chris Joe,  Tom Hoggard,  Jacob Stephenson,  Nathan Pratt,  James Bulmer,  Paul Angus,  Nick Salisbury,  Bailey Lamb,  Rob Featherstone,  Jack Hobbs,  Charlie Read,  Jamie Rounthwaite,  Tom Lowry,  Matt Bowman (c).

Subs: all used.  Pete Hopkins,  Will Dunn,  Sean Emms.

Scorers:  Featherstone 2 tries,  James Bulmer 1 try, 4 cons,  Will Bell 1 try.