Middlesbrough 19 - 19 Cleckheaton

In this highly competitive and entertaining encounter both sides can take great credit for their respective parts. From a Cleckheaton point of view it was always going to be difficult to reach the performance heights of the previous week given that their season's goal had been achieved. From a Boro point of view they had everything to play for and in the end showed that they are a good side and given more consistency should be much higher up the table. In fact from the outset it was obvious that the home side were not going to lie down and wave the league champions through. Boro came out with all guns blazing and inside twenty five minutes were nineteen points up with three tries from strong centre Bellerby, winger Kilbride and mobile hooker Kearney; stand off Simon O'Farrell converting two and missing an earlier penalty effort. Cleckheaton were shell shocked and with Matt Piper in the sin bin were looking down the barrel. Slowly but surely the visitors regained their composure and tries from Oliver Akroyd and Martin Woodhead with one conversion from Ross Hayden instigated a momentum swing.
In a high tempo second half both sides defended strongly but it was Cleckheaton who were expected to run away with the game as they had the strong wind in their favour and a season's success behind them. The reality was a little different and Boro can take confidence from the fact that Cleckheaton were restricted to one further try scored by skipper Richard Piper converted by Ross Hayden. Despite several scoring chances for the visitors including turning down penalty awards at goal for line out options,the deadlock couldn't be broken and the spoils were shared.
This was the right result although ultimately it may not be enough for Boro to avoid the drop as their nearest rivals in the relegation zone Sheffield gained a bonus point win to continue their unbelievable revival over the last couple of months. From a Cleckheaton point of view there was still much to admire. Injuries and unavailabilities did tend to have an effect but the line out functioned well and to restore parity from a 19 point deficit reflects the great spirit in the camp of the league champions. One game left against already relegated Malton & Norton next Saturday to bring the curtain down on a fantastic season and a chance to relax for a couple of weeks before the planning starts afresh for the new campaign in National League Three.