Cleckheaton 25 - 11 Middlesborough

Cleckheaton moved out of the relegation zone with a hard earned and confidence boosting win against a battling Boro side. Key to Cleckheaton's change of fortune was the accuracy of marksman Ross Hayden and the full blooded commitment of back row Lance Hamilton who was the stand out player of the match. For the first time this season Cleck had almost a full complement of forwards to choose from. Carl Mason and Richard Piper returned from suspension and both made a big impact in the forward exchanges, as did the well again Matt Burrows. The backs however,were still missing the experienced Tom Lauriston,Nick Wainwright and Owen Edwards.All should be back in contention in the near future when Cleck have a lot of hard work to do to climb the table.

Cleckheaton took an early lead when new winger Mitch Ashworth finished off excellent work by full back Joe Massarella. The try was unconverted but four minutes later Ross Hayden extended the lead with a penalty. Boro had the chance to close the deficit but Callum Campbell was wide with two penalty attempts. In the fifteenth minute Cleckheaton No 8 Matt Burrows made the visitors pay for their lapses when he beat off three attempted tacklers to score a solo try wide out. Again Hayden was just wide with his conversion effort.

Cleckheaton continued to dominate territorially but Boro's pack was exerting a lot of pressure in the set pieces. In the 25th minute Campbell was successful with his third attempt on goal but Ross Hayden continued to edge Cleckheaton further in front with two long range penalties in the thirtieth and thirty fourth minutes. On the stroke of half time Boro ended a period of forward pressure with a try from backrower Matt Wright. The conversion was missed.

The second half was marked by great endeavour from both sides. However,one worrying aspect was Cleck's inexplicable tendency to lose concentration in the first quarter of the half. The previous game plan which had been successful in the first half was forgotten with the backs looking to run the ball from deep rather than play the percentages and look to camp in the Boro half, but with Hayden winning the battle of the two kickers by two penalties to one Cleckheaton ran out worthy winners and a timely boost to their confidence as they prepare for the first local derby of the season next week when they travel to league leaders Morley.

This was a very welcome victory for Dave Harrison's side with the pack holding their nerve despite being under exceptional pressure in the scrums. Lance Hamilton led from the front breaking through numerous tackles in several eye catching midfield runs. Matt Burrows was not far behind him for the accolades but in the post match celebrations the whole team was awarded the man of the match title as a fitting tribute to the spirited way in which the team defended as a unit to deny the talented Boro back line scoring opportunities.