Normanton Knights 16 - 28 Rochdale Mayfield

Rochdale Mayfield came away from Wakefield with two valuable points on Saturday (19 March 2011), after a tough battle with Normanton Knights in the Hattons Solictors National Conference League Division 1.

Normanton are at the bottom of the division, but trips to Yorkshire, to face a side fighting for league survival are never easy and this was proved to be the case, despite coach Sam Butterworth welcoming back Lee Atkinson from suspension and Simon Moore from injury.

The game opened well for Mayfield as they repeatedly made easy ground to gain possession in the oppositions half, but on three occasions the ball was spilled in good position. On 12 minutes though, Mayfield Man of the Match, Aidan Gleeson drove strongly into the defence and produced a double hand off and spin to twist through the would be tacklers and over the line. He converted for a 0-6 lead but Mayfield seemed to celebrate too long as they dropped the restart kick, and Normanton took full advantage when 3 plays later through simple passes they scored wide on the right. The conversion was missed but on 17 minutes the scores were levelled when pressure on the Mayfield line produced a penalty for the home side, who kicked the goal for 6-6. The parity continued until 30 minutes of the half had elapsed, as quick play the balls by Mayfield forced three consecutive penalties and Ben Namulatua took advantage to force his way over the line for an Aidan Gleeson converted try. It seemed that Mayfield would end the half on a high as they increased the tempo of the game and forced repeat penalties from the hosts, but strong defence kept Mayfield out and the frustration told as Ben Namulatua chipped aimlessly on the last tackle and the home full back took a clean catch and raced the length of the field for a try, right on the stroke of half time.

10 – 12 at the break and whilst Mayfield seemed comfortable and in control of the game, the scoreboard showed otherwise.

Five minutes after the restart, solid attack prompted by Todd O’Brien and Taurean Sheehan, forced the hosts to drop out from under the posts. The kick sailed out on the full and from the resultant penalty Luke Sampson hit the line and twisted out of the tackle to drive over for his first try of the season – robbing the world of the spectacle of his impending, end of season, naked lap. Gleeson again converted for 10-18. Mayfield kicked into life and only resolute, and at times desperate, defence prevented further scores. The home side tested the patience of the referee too much though and after their number 9 was sin binned for persistent off side, Taurean Sheehan side - stepped in mid field and raced through for fine try. Gleeson missed his first conversion of the day but at 10-22 Mayfield were cruising. The lead should have been increased on 60 minutes as Ian Sampson showed fancy footwork and shimmied over to claim a try, only for the referee to rule it out for crossing despite none of his teammates being able to get anywhere near his dazzling steps. Normanton took full advantage of this good fortune and on returning from the sin bin their dummy half darted through lacklustre line defence for a converted try on 78 minutes. Amazingly, at 16-22, Normanton were now only a converted try away from a draw and they sensed the opportunity and pressed hard, but Mayfield again soaked up the pressure and converted defence into attack, as Todd O’Brien burst through the line and cut infield towards the posts. He seemed destined to score but tripped ten metres out, before regaining his feet to stumble again towards the line. The defence had recovered though and caught him just on the line. Both attacker and defender crashed into the post, and despite claims for a try, the referee ruled that the Mayfield hooker was held up. On the next play Chris Brett’s neat inside pass saw Ben Simpson stroll over the line for a try that Gleeson converted for a 16-28 victory for Mayfield.

The tough nature of away trips to Yorkshire showed again, but Mayfield are also made of strong stuff and the determination and will to win was rewarded with two points that sent them back to second in the table and well and truly in the hunt for promotion.

Team; Ben Namultua, Kristian Duffy, Steve Wood, Ian Sampson, Paul Lane. Taurean Sheehan, John Foy. Benn Coombes, Todd O’Brien, Ben Simpson, Andrew Moroney, Matty Moores, Aidan Gleeson. Luke Sampson, Chris Brett, Simon Moore, Lee Atkinson.