Hull 20 - 20 Cleckheaton (40 - 20 after E.T.)

Hull won their way into the Yorkshire Cup final after a titanic struggle against Cleckheaton who pushed the National 2 side all the way, outscoring them 3 tries to 2 in normal time. Hull sealed the game in the second period of extra time, scoring two late tries as the darkness descended. It must be said that the final score did not at all reflect the tremendous effort put in by the young Cleckheaton side who were fielding several players making their first team debut`s including Ben Thrower and Luke Bashforth. With the continued presence of other rising stars Matt Beasty, Chris Piper and James Wilson the Moorenders came very close to providing a major upset in this enthralling cup tie.

Hull got off to the best of starts with a Greg Lound penalty in the third minute and for the first ten minutes, the home side had the better of the exchanges without adding to their score. Cleckheaton came more into the game after that, shaking off their journey down the M62, but a strike move following a scrum was pulled back by the referee for a forward pass . A catch and drive following a line-out was also held by Hull and then a drive following a tap-penalty took Cleckheaton very close but without score.

The home side went further ahead in the twenty-fifth minute when a move to the right saw Alex Piercy come into the line to beat the Cleckheaton cover for a try which was converted by Lound. Hull continued to have the better of the exchanges and in the thirty-fourth minute, as the ball was being moved left across the visitors 22 line, centre Ollie Cook straightened up to slice through to score under the posts leaving Lound an easy conversion for a 17-0 lead.

If Hull thought this was going to be easy they soon had to change their minds as Cleckheaton scored twice in seven minutes with tries from scrum-half Ollie Depledge, after a kick into empty space caught Hull napping and Pete Murphy seized onto the ball, straightened, and fed Depledge, who had the speed to outrun the cover defence. Iain Gordon added the extras. Five minutes later, on the stroke of half time, Hull's 22 metre drop-out failed to cross the whitewash, gifting Cleckheaton a scrum. Cleck attacked the right hand flank and following good ruck clearance by the forwards, Richard Piper muscled his way over in the right corner to bring the Moorenders back into the game at 17-12.

Cleckheaton opened the second period strongly and full of confidence and although a penalty shot at goal was missed they kept up the pressure. In the fifty-fifth minute excellent ball retention and expansive play, left the Hull side short in defence on the right hand side and fast hands from Ross Hayden put Richard Piper in for his second try to cap a man of the match performance. The conversion drifted wide and the scores remained level at 17 all. Cleckheaton were now looking the better side and although the line out wasn`t functioning with it`s usual aplome under the pressure of Hull`s Yorkshire captain Cook, the scrumage with Cleck captain Paul Turner and tight head Andy Piper leading the way more than had the upper hand.

Hull were grateful for a towering clearance kick from Guy Martinson which led to a line-out near the visitors line from which Hull forced two five-metre scrums. Cleckheaton were not in the mood to concede however and outstanding determination allowed them to regain possession and clear their lines.

The introduction of former premiership player Chris Murphy brought more cohesion to the home side and two catch and drives from Hull piled more pressure on Cleckheaton but no matter how hard Hull tried, they could not break through the stonewall defence. In the seventy-seventh minute Cleckheaton were caught offside and Lound kicked the goal to put Hull 20-17 ahead. Cleckheaton came storming back showing great confidence and two minutes from time Gordon kept his cool to land a good penalty goal from wide out to level the scores and take the game into extra time.

In the gathering dusk Hull kicked a penalty goal to take the lead and although Cleckheaton responded well the Hull defence held firm. Cleckheaton's defence eventually cracked as darkness drew in, when Chris Murphy crashed over for a try converted by Lound.

In the eighth minute of the second period of extra time, Cleckheaton were penalised at a 22-metre drop-out and from the resultant scrum a move to the right saw Ollie Hardisty loop round to score near the posts leaving Lound to convert. Just before time Hull were awarded a penalty and young fly-half Greg Lound completed a remarkable evening by landing his eighth goal from eight attempts.

Great credit must be given for the way Cleckheaton approached this game. League status meant nothing to them and they almost provided Hull with a nasty shock. They returned to the West Yorkshire with their heads held high.