Malton in Control
James Knock
Six years have passed since these two clubs last faced each other in the old Yorkshire One league. Following restructuring of the leagues by the great and the good at HQ, Selby who finished fifth last season in the aforementioned have now joined Malton (9th last season in North One East) in what is grandly titled Regional 2 North East.
A perfect afternoon for fast flowing rugby on a beautifully presented playing surface lived up to all expectations.Selby kicked off straight into touch but stole Malton’s feed on the midfield restart, a marker that troubled Malton in the opening exchanges. Minutes later having effected a turnover the Malton pack displaying dominance in the loose rumbled to the Selby line and a break by the powerhouse Fothergill drawing his man put Tenge in for a 7 pointer on 9 minutes.
Two minutes later again a quality ball from the Malton eight put Lockwood in space and his speed and power saw him over the whitewash from a good way off the try line with a tackler desperately clinging on to him to put the score at 14-0.
Malton’s well drilled line speed in defence and their round the corner work saw them snuff out any Selby attacks and with good turnovers gained through Selby’s errors it was not long before a penalty was awarded 30 metres out and 15 in off the touch line and skipper Triffitt wisely choosing to stretch the early lead called up his kicker Bulmer to hammer the ball plumb between the sticks on 16 minutes.
Selby had one ace in the pack in their powerful eight at scrum time but were guilty of wasting hard earned possession through basic errors by their back division. On 25 minutes the frustration was evident when a forward kicked a ball out of a loose scrum towards his backs whilst offside and earned a ten minute break at the same time giving Malton a shot at goal which just drifted wide.
Bulmer soon made amends four minutes later the ball landing in his bread basket after a basic error between the Selby 14 and 15 attempting to field an attacking long kick by the aforementioned. He trotted over to claim all 7 points to bring the score to 24-0.
Malton now sought to address the pressure felt at scrum time by withdrawing Barker and introducing Emms into the second row moving Read to the flank at the same time introducing Jones to replace Weatherill on the wing. This adjustment soon paid off with better ball from set piece and on 39 minutes Bulmer with a dummy or two and a show of the ball shimmied his way past two defenders to put Fothergill through for a simple run in and 7 points to bring the half to a close and Malton 31 points to nil.
A feature of the opening 40 minutes was the crisp interplay amongst the Malton eight and their power at breakdown giving the half backs Angus and Bulmer plenty of time and options and the opportunity for the latter to run the show with a clever mix of astute kicking and use of the power of midfielders Foan and Lockwood.The second half opened with Malton following up their kick off and just narrowly failing to put Fothergill in at the corner. On 49 minutes following a penalty kick to the corner 5 metres out Salisbury’s perfect throw in over the head and flailing arm of the Selby 5 (reputed to be the tallest man in Yorkshire) who stood at the front of the line found his jumper Lowry standing at 6 who on his way down delivered the perfect pass to the "fast moving" Salisbury on the run round to collect and crash over in copybook style, a move he assured me comes naturally to him.
With forwards and backs now working in harmony on 53 minutes the young prospect Jones delivered a perfect offload after a break by Tenge for Lockwood to motor over for his second try and move the score to 41-0. Malton now in total control used the opportunity to go through some set moves and ring the changes in personnel with Liam Vaughan deservedly earning loud applause on 70 minutes for a terrific shift at the coal face. On 75 minutes following a penalty kick to the corner and the subsequent line out Malton drove over the limewash with several backs adding weight for Donaghy to emerge with the ball and 5 points to his name. A Bulmer conversion completed the scoring and 4 minutes later with the final whistle a 48 points to nil score line retains top place in the league table.
A good afternoon in the Autumn sunshine for all 18 players and a large band of Malton supporters. This performance must be pleasing for coach Alex Crockett and his assistants, but chicken counting at this early stage of the season would not be wise!
Next up at the Gannock we entertain Bradford and Bingley and the chance to catch up with old friend Jimmy Stewart who represented both clubs with great distinction. If you want a place on the pre match buffett please book with Christine before thursday, More Info Here
Lastly on a personal note I must thank Jon Richards who reported on the opening 2 games during my absence, thank you Jon!Malton: Ali Fothergill, Josh Weatherill, Ed Lockwood, Tom Foan, Ben Tenge, James Bulmer, Paul Angus, Nick Salisbury, Ted Hughes, Liam Vaughan, Charlie Read, Jamie Rounthwaite, Tom Barker, Tom Lowry, Sam Triffitt (c).Subs (all used): Sean Emms, Ryan Donaghy, Dylan Jones.Scorers: Tenge 1try Lockwood 2 tries Bulmer 1 try, 1 pen, 5 cons Fothergill 1 try Salisbury 1 try Donaghy 1try
