John Machin
After last week's excellent start Malton expected a sterner test at Silver Royd following Scarborough's comfortable win at Bradford Salem.
Scarborough kicked off with the advantage of a gentle breeze. A brief shower of rain greeted the players but this soon cleared and most of the match was played in bright sunshine. Scarborough were soon on the attack but were repelled by good Malton tackling. However after 5 minutes quick ball was won by the home side which went down their back line and the Malton defence was breached for their right wing Henry Domett to cross in the corner. The conversion was successful from fly half Ollie Carroll, so 7-0. Malton tight head prop Jake Taylor had by this stage suffered a foot injury and had to leave the field to be replaced by Rob Featherstone.
From the kick off Malton gained possession and applied some pressure in the Scarborough 22. Unfortunately they gave away a penalty and the home side cleared their lines. Malton worked their way back into the Scarborough half and after several pick and drives established a foothold in the Scarborough 22. The ball was moved to the right along the line before a high pass to Bill Collier on the right wing was very well taken by him and a good burst of speed saw him score in the corner. The kick went wide so 7-5 after 15 minutes. Scarborough made a quick reply and on 18 minutes won a scrum penalty converted by Carroll to take the score to 10-5. There then followed a period of Scarborough dominance as their forwards retained possession and their speedy backs looked dangerous and should have scored on several occasions but for wild passes going astray and even into touch.
On 32 minutes Malton suffered another injury when captain Jacob Stephenson suffered an arm injury and was unable to continue and Tom Ray came on. Malton were penalised for offside on 37 minutes. Scarborough ran the ball and after several phases full back Jonty Holloway burst through for a try converted by Carroll to take the score to 17-5. At this stage the home side we're getting well on top. Paul Angus made a try saving tackle as a Scarborough centre bust through. As the half drew to a close the home side had a penalty chance which went wide.
At 17-5 and with the wind in their favour Malton were well in touch as they kicked off the 2nd half. They exerted a spell of good pressure on the Scarborough line. They thought they had scored under the posts but the referee decided that Tom Lowry had been held up. The same player shortly afterwards made a good tackle and Scarborough were penalised for holding on. A few phases later Scarborough infringed again and James Bulmer drilled the ball into touch. The line out was thrown to the front and the Malton forwards combined well to drive the opposition back and Rob Featherstone rumbled over to get the touchdown. The conversion , wide out, was missed leaving the score at 17-10 with all to play for.
From the kick off Malton infringed and Carroll kicked the penalty to bring the score to 20-10 after 58 minutes. From this point on Malton lost their way and Scarborough dominated possession and territory. Malton were unfortunate in that James Bulmer was late tackled after putting up a high ball. The referee followed the ball and in doing so did not see the late tackle which went unpunished. To add to Malton's woes Bulmer was unable to continue. Paul Angus moved up to fly half and Charlie Ray came on. Scarborough moved up a gear as Malton struggled to overcome the enforced changes through injuries. Most of the play was in the Malton 22 and further tries came from Euan Govier and Rufus Pollard, one of which was converted by Carroll taking the score to 32-10. On 77 minutes Featherstone suffered a head injury and was replaced with Nick Salisbury coming back on. Further pressure from Scarborough resulted in prop Ropeti Ropeti diving over for a final unconverted try.
A disappointing day for Malton against a good Scarborough side. They never gave up but, having four players injured took its toll and especially the two in the 2nd half which emptied an already depleted bench.
Not a bad day overall in that Malton 2nds scored 70 plus points v Scarborough 2nds also playing at Scarborough whilst Malton 3rds scored 40 plus points against Scarborough 3rds at Malton.
Next Saturday we are at home to Wetherby ko 3pm.
MALTON & NORTON: Hopkins, Salisbury, Taylor, Reed, Dunn, Raines, Lowry, Triffitt, Hoggard, Bulmer, Collier, Lockwood, Stephenson (c), Jefferson, Angus.
BENCH (all used) T Ray, C Ray, Featherstone.
