Malton and Norton RUFC

MALTON SQUANDER 16 POINT LEAD

The first acknowledgment must go to the ground staff for providing yet another perfect playing surface after two days incessant rain brought in by storm Babette.
Our visitors Brods kicked off towards the football end and immediately won the first of the kick tennis exchanges with a net gain of 25 metres. From the line 15 metres out a drive to the line produced 5 points for the visitors in the third minute.  0-5

From the restart Malton were on the attack in the red zone but a dropped pass aimed at a midfielder’s shoulder saw 30 metres lost as Brods gratefully hacked the ball upfield. Play went up and down the field over the next 10 minutes during which Malton lost Barker to a leg injury thus losing the fastest player of the match eighteen.
In the twelfth minute Malton opened their account from an orthodox move through the back division for a Foster dot down and the extras added.  7-5

With 65% possession coupled to 80% territory Malton started to make inroads and a perfectly laid on ball from Tenge making a welcome first appearance was chased and with Poole winning the foot race and adding the conversion the score advanced to a healthy 9 point lead.  14-5
Minutes later a long range penalty attempt went wide but Malton soon added to their total when Fothergill demonstrated his capabilities bursting out of his half down the touch line and with a perfectly weighted chip kick down the tramline turned his opposite number and strolled through to add another converted try.  21-5 and the murmurs of approval from the crowd were increasing in volume by the minute.

Brods as expected of a side sitting in second place in the league after 6 games hit back when they ran the home side from side to side twice in a minute providing an easy run in for their winger and 7 points in the thirtieth minute.  21-12
Fothergill after his heroics picked up a leg injury and departed to the dugout thus leaving Malton now shorn of two speed merchants. With half time beckoning a ball brought out of defence was cleanly transferred through several pairs of hands and Vasconcelos was the grateful last pair going over the whitewash for another 7 points and a comfortable 16 point lead at the interval.  28-12

The visitors opened the scoring in the second half with their mobile no8 coming to the fore and providing momentum and quality ball with strong running that Malton did not seem able to control. In the 42nd minute a chip kick beat a somewhat lacklustre cover defence and let Brods back into the game with a 7 pointer.  28-19

A penalty attempt minutes later sailed just wide from distance which was unfortunate to say the least as Poole’s try conversions had been top class. Brods were now handing out the treatment they had received in the first half but against the run of play in the 52nd minute Stephenson intercepted a pass and beat two pursuers to the line fully 45 metres to restore the 16 point margin.  35-19

Play moved up and down the park and with the visitors willing to run out of defence coupled with some excellent handling skills from their big ball carriers they put pressure on the home side who were now starting to fall off tackles. Worse was to come as a totting up yellow card was flashed at Leggott and Brods helped themselves to 19 points in the 10 minutes duration of the card. 35-38.

Shell shock does not fully describe the look on the Malton faces and they were a shadow of the team that had bossed the first half with fitness levels or rather lack of them coming to the fore as we approach a third of the way through the league fixtures.
With ten minutes left on the clock a penalty was awarded to Malton in the middle of the pitch 35 metres out and a somewhat weary looking Angus assured his skipper that it was within his range but was horribly shanked and left the home side clutching at straws.

With fortune looking in the wrong direction Brods took another 5 points from close range to lead by 8 points in minute 76 of normal time and the thought that they had denied Malton the second match point and any chance of winning.
But rugby can be fickle and deep into injury time fortune and brute strength came to Malton’s rescue when the visiting eight collapsed a scrum over the line just as Triffitt was about to score leaving the referee no option but  to award a penalty try.  42-43 and two bonus points.

The squad now thanks to the World Cup have a fortnight to regroup, cure any aches and pains both physical and mental and sort out the conundrum of availability that is starting to become problematic.
We reconvene on November 4th at 2.15 pm when we entertain Moortown.

Malton:  Ben Boothman,  John Vasconcelos,  Nick Salisbury,  Darren Leggott,  Will Dunn,  Thomas Barker,  Charlie Read,  Sam Triffitt (c),  Paul Angus,  James Bulmer,  Jacob Stephenson,  Blair Foster,  Ben Tenge,  Ali Fothergill,  Shane Poole.

Subs: (all used)  Rob Featherstone,  Joe Browne ,  Ed Browne.

Scorers:   Foster    1 try
                  Poole    1 try   5 cons
                  Fothergill   1 try
                  Vasconcelos   1 try
                  Stephenson   1 try
                  Penalty  try  (7 points).