Old Brodlieans 27 - 24 Cleckheaton

A local derby match exceeded expectation in terms of skill levels, commitment, and drama.
The eagerly awaited fixture kicked off with Cleckheaton facing the considerable woodhead slope and so were always going to be put under pressure in the first period by the buoyant home side who where steeled by recent wins over league leaders West Hartlepool and Wheatley Hills. However Clecks recent good form also provided the confidence to compete in all quarters.
After the initial tense minutes Cleckheaton`s combatative direct style was off set by brods top of the ground wide game , a cracker was on the cards.
The home side where the first, on 14 mins, to strike when stand off Holborough caught the cleck defence napping , he tapped a quick penalty as the visitors where slowly retreating expecting the usual shot at goal , the ball was quickly moved to the winger who crossed wide out , cleck old boy Oli Akroyd missing the conversion.
From the restart Cleckheaton had their best period of the half. From a turnover following a crunching tackle by back rower Mark Sergeant, Clecks forwards seized the ball and carried hard to the heart of the home defence, several phases later the ball was swiftly moved wide to try machine Ross Hayden who danced up the touchline from 30 m out to beat the cover to the line. Iain Gordon unable to add the extras.
With Cleckheaton getting the worst of the refs penalty distribution, Brods were able to stretch the visitors defence several times and use the slope to good effect on others, 2 further well executed tries plus 1 conversion extended their lead to 17 - 5 at the break.
The second half didn`t start well for the Moorend outfit, with forwards again guilty of over committing defensively at the breakdown and reorganising from the loss of full back Johno Marshal to a suspected dislocated shoulder. The home side to again played the ball wide to score wide out, stretching their lead to 22 - 5.
With a sizeable task facing them, Cleckheaton upped the intensity from the restart, with  experienced forward Carl Mason on at prop for the improving Danny Furness the forwards finally came into their own, dominating the contact area and rocking the home defence back on it’s heels with greater ease, the home defence creaking they infringed several times , finally the referee handing out his first of three yellow cards , continued pressure saw cleck mount fantastic come back on the 50 min mark veteran hooker Steve Worsley was first to cross, minutes later the home scrum under increasing pressure , Cleckheaton opted for the scrum option 5 meters out , several drives were illegally repelled  and the referee awarded the inevitable penalty try, Gordon this time adding the easy conversion.
At 17 - 22 down and 10 minutes left Cleck pushed hard, evergreen back row Neil Gillan now on to direct the ship up front, a succession of pick and drives gained good ground and with the home defence reorganising the blind side was exploited and top order execution saw the ball moved through three pairs of hands to releasep Ross Hayden to step inside the cover to score his 9th try in as many games. The conversion was secured to give Cleck the lead for the first time on 76 mins . The exhilarating 12 minutes of play that followed was a testament not only to the home side’s unwillingness to give up and their skill levels to keep the ball through many phases, backed up by some committed defence from the Visitors , but to rugby itself at this level. The game came to its end with young Brods prop ending a sustained attack to grasp victory from the jaws of defeat. Both teams should take credit for what was a great spectacle of rugby.