York Acorn 22 – 34 Mayfield

Rochdale Mayfield

An outstanding first half display from another very young Mayfield side secured the points at York on Saturday. This was a confident performance from a side containing four U18s, including two youngsters making their full debuts, as John Nabetelem and Ben Tagi Tumua continued Mayfield’s proud, long history of Fijian players.

Despite putting the ball out on the full from the kick-off, Mayfield started very strongly. Their first defensive set was brilliant with strong tackles going in from Dave Ellis and Callum Marriott – stopping Acorn in their tracks.

In the opening stages Sean Watkins found Seta Tala with a neat inside ball and the powerful prop crashed over to open the score before Chris Hough converted.

With ten regular players unavailable for the game Mayfield could have been forgiven for not doing so well in this match, but the youngsters who stepped in did brilliantly, rocking the Acorn attack every time they attempted to make an impact on the game. Ellis, Marriott and Rhys Carruth were at the forefront of the defensive line with the rest of the side taking their lead.

A well-crafted Sam Butterworth score – converted by Zac Baker – and a brace from Lewis Sheridan, one of which Baker managed to convert, gave Mayfield a comfortable 0 – 22 lead. They seemed to take their collective foot off the gas for a while, though, and Acorn sensed this, managing to sneak in for a converted score before half time.

Half Time: York Acorn 6 – 22 Mayfield

After the break Mayfield found it hard to regain their rhythm and mistakes crept into their game, which were compounded by a referee who appeared to have received a new whistle and wanted to show it off. The broken play caused Mayfield some frustration and that showed as Tala was sent to the bin for a minor altercation. The hosts used took advantage, immediately upping the pace and finding gaps in the otherwise solid Mayfield line. It was a credit to Mayfield that they held them to just one score in this period with the score at 10 – 22.

A Hough penalty extended the away side’s lead before he and Tala exchanged places in the bin after the latter questioned a refereeing decision. The extra work load was taking its toll on Mayfield, but a much needed Watkins score from an interception in his own thirty metres gave them some breathing space, making it 10 – 28.

A melee followed after a late tackle as Watkins grounded the ball, but this gave Mayfield the added fire they needed. Within minutes Lewis Sheridan had completed his hat trick with Baker converting to extend the advantage. Unfortunately, the fire soon went out as Acorn enjoyed their best spell during the last ten minutes, pulling back two converted tries to make the final score 22 – 34.

However, the scoreline somewhat flattered the hosts, who never really looked like troubling Mayfield until their tired legs caught up with them. After all, this was their third game in eight days.

Coaches Calland and Butterworth were delighted with the overall performance from their changed side and heaped praise on the youngsters. Sheridan again walked away with the Man of the Match but was pushed close by brother Dec, while Nualamatua and Ellis also performed well.