Morpeth 12 – 29 Cleckheaton

Cleckheaton came through a potentially difficult trip up to Morpeth with a bonus point win to continue their push at the top of North One East. As with last week’s game, the Moorenders earned the extra point with a first half blitz that that gave them a 24-0 advantage at the break.

Cleckheaton got the scoring underway 7 minutes into the game when Morpeth conceded a penalty just inside their own half. Ross Hayden put the ball in the corner and the resulting catch and drive looked to have put the first points on the board but it was deemed to be held up. The scoreboard remained untroubled fleetingly though as Matt Piper barged his was over following the resulting scrum. The conversion was missed.

Cleckheaton’s second try followed soon afterwards. Another penalty gave the visitors the opportunity of a line-out a short distance from their opposition’s whitewash and on this occasion the well honed catch and drive machine would not be denied. Skipper Richard Piper directed the push and placed the ball down for his 15th league try this season. Ross Hayden added the conversion from the touchline.

Morpeth had some useful possession but could not make any real headway against Cleckheaton’s solid defensive line. The pack worked brilliantly together and the level of communication within the Cleckheaton team was notable as the sound of West Yorkshire voices rang around the playing field, organising each other and ensuring there were no gaps left for Morpeth to exploit. From one such defensive effort Cleckheaton turned over possession and Johnno Marshall, in at stand-off for the unavailable Michael Piper, combined well with Martin Woodhead to advance the ball 40m down field before off-loading to Hayden, who finished off a lovely flowing counter-attack. The conversion drifted wide but Cleckheaton had moved into a 17-0 lead.

Cleckheaton’s bonus point try came following excellent awareness from Craig Blackburn and excellent kicking skills from Johnno Marshall. The former indicating the wealth of space available on the right wing and the latter executing a beautifully weighted cross-field kick, which Blackburn caught and fed Matt Piper for his second of the afternoon. Hayden added the extras as the referee wet his whistle to signal the end of the first period.

Cleckheaton introduced two young men into the fray, with 18 year old Jack Seddon and 20 year old Alex Dawson taking to the field. Both would go on to make excellent contributions and it wasn’t long before Cleckheaton went further in front. Several drives on the short side eventually crumpled Morpeth’s defence, allowing Matt Piper, who was a tour de force all afternoon, to tiptoe up the touch line. He fed Ross Hayden who chipped ahead for Martin Woodhead to collect for a delightful try. The conversion hit the post.

Morpeth, to their credit, could have capitulated at this point but instead turned up their work rate. After bashing Cleckheaton’s line for several minutes, a loose ball in Cleck’s in-goal area was pounced on by players from both sides. The referee adjudged that Morpeth’s David Dickinson had got the first touch and awarded the try. Cleckheaton attacked again from the restart and won a couple of penalties in Morpeth’s 22 but the home side, realising that the result was already irreversible, invited Cleckheaton to mix it with an appetizer of handbags at 10 paces, followed by a main course of fisticuffs. Cleckheaton accepted the challenge and with their focus interrupted, it was Morpeth who got the deserts with a further consolation try for winger Andrew Telford.

A long drive up to the North East for a Yorkshire side at this time of the season is always a difficult prospect and represents the type of game that a team who wants to challenge for honours at the end of the year needs to be able to win. Cleckheaton came through the test admirably but will need to maintain concentration when they face Middlesbrough at home this weekend. The club is hosting a pre-match lunch and as a result the kick off has been put back by 15 minutes to 2.30pm.