Hull Kingston Rovers 24-16 Rochdale Hornets

For the second time this season Rochdale Hornets ran Hull Kingston Rovers close as they went down at Craven Park on Sunday.

Despite the result extending the losing run of Alan Kilshaw’s men to seven games the head coach was happy with their performance and response from a disappointing Easter period.

Rochdale had just 15 fit players available as Sam Wilde was brought in on dual registration from Warrington Wolves and Jono Smith featured from the bench despite carrying an injury, making their performance even more impressive.

Some questionable calls went against the away side but they defended brilliantly, especially on their own line, and the errors were kept to a minimum as they completed at a high rate.

Both sides got off to a solid start as they completed their opening sets, and the first chance went to the home side as Jorda Abdull stabbed a kick in behind the defence but James Greenwood knocked on with the try line begging.

Rochdale came up with some great goal line defence soon after before they registered the first points of the game 16-minute in. A ball steal on Gary Middlehurst gave them the field position and a clever pass at the line from Lewis Palfrey sent Jordan Case over untouched for an unconverted effort.

A dangerous lifting tackle on Middlehurst was followed by another penalty which resulted in the home side being placed on report, and when Greenwood gave a third away for holding down he was sin binned and Palfrey knocked over a penalty goal from in front.

Hornets were then placed on a team warning and the hosts replied through George Lawler, as he benefitted from a fast play the ball to crash over for a four pointer on the left edge.

Lewis Galbraith then became the second player to be sent to the sin bin for a high tackle and for two minutes it was 12 vs 12.

With a numerical advantage the Rovers hit the front as Andrew Heffernan broke from deep in his own half to expose some soft defence, and although Chris Riley halted him with a cover tackle Ryan Shaw was over in acres of space out wide from the next play. Jamie Ellis knocked over the extras as they took a 10-6 lead into the sheds.

Before the break, Rochdale were handed a chance with a minute to play of the first 40 as their opponents knocked on 20 metres from their own line, but Middlehurst coughed up possession in the tackle.

Half time: Hull Kingston Rovers 10-6 Rochdale Hornets

Shaun Lunt broke straight from the base of a scrum early in the second period and looked certain to score before Galbraith chased him down, and when the Rovers hooker offloaded under pressure Middlehurst was on hand to pounce on the ball.

Lunt made no mistake on 48 minutes though, when off the back of a penalty he found a way through the defensive line and reached out to plant the ball down over the try line, with Ellis converting.

A harsh penalty was awarded against Case for a solid tackle which was judged high by the touch judge, and off the back of that decision Ben Kavanagh stepped right through the heart of the defence before rounding the fullback to score.

After Rochdale were awarded their first penalty of the half they responded, with Danny Yates floating a kick to the corner where Rob Massam climbed the highest to make it 22-10.

The Rovers extended their lead to 14 points with a penalty goal, which came after Riley was judged to have knocked a kick on when the ball looked to have travelled backwards.

Hornets remained in the contest until the death, and with four minutes on the clock a great play from Yates lead to the final score of the game as his 40/20 set the platform for Case to cross for his second.

It was too little too late in terms of the score line, however there were plenty of positives to take from the display as they pushed the league leaders all the way.

Hull Kingston Rovers: Ben Cockayne, Will Oakes, Andrew Heffernan, Liam Salter, Ryan Shaw, Jordan Abdull, Jamie Ellis, Ben Kavanagh, Shaun Lunt, Mitch Clark, Maurice Blair, James Greenwood, George Lawler Subs: Zach Dockar-Clay, Joe Wardill, Joe Cator, Robbie Mulhern
Tries: Lawler (25), Shaw (36), Lunt (48), Kavanagh (53)
Goals: Ellis 4/5

Rochdale Hornets: Chris Riley, Miles Greenwood, Jack Holmes, Lewis Galbraith, Rob Massam, Lewis Palfrey, Danny Yates, Jordan Hand, Ben Moores, Gavin Bennion, Jordan Case, Josh Crowley, Gary Middlehurst Subs: Jono Smith, Jake Eccleston, Matty Hadden, Sam Wilde
Tries: Case (16, 77), Massam (58)
Goals: Palfrey 2/4

Hornets Man of the Match: Jordan Case has been a consistent performer in recent weeks and was solid in defence against Hull Kingston Rovers, and he even crossed for two tries to cap a great display.

Pen Count: 16-9
Referee: Scott Mikalauskas
Attendance: 7,141