Kestrels lose at Sandal

A young Kestrels side travelled to Sandal by coach on Saturday.
The theme for after match attire was Halloween but some took it literally as all day with a few nightmare moments on the pitch.

Not for the 1st time in recent seasons Alan Holmes had used his local knowledge and networking to wangle a pre match lunch for all Clecks visiting supporters and the promise of a Steak pie dinner. Unfortunately Alans colleagues at Sandal had got their wires crossed and it ended up with Sausage butties (Mr Holmes your losing your knack)

The kestrels played down the slope in the 1st period and spent the opening 10 mins in the Sandal half. They had ample opportunity with ball in hand deep in the home sides territory but a succession of dropped balls let the home side off the hook.

Sandals 1st trip into Cleck territory saw them take the lead with a well struck penalty from their outstanding number 9 who's kicking game later proved vital in the 2nd half.

The Kestrels hit back when after more pressure resulting in a scrum 15 metres out Josh White picked up at the base and passed outside him to Tom Brook who hit the line at speed to go over the whitewash after 15 minutes.

Sandal again took the lead 6-5 with another penalty after handling on the floor by Cleck.
The next phase of play saw Liam Goldthorpe sin binned for something only the referee saw as he clearly picked the ball up at a ruck whilst on his feet and his leg been lifted by a Sandal player but the man in the middle saw differently and gave him a 10 min rest.
Obviously the referee didn't want to miss out on the Halloween theme having a few nightmare moments of his own.

Whilst down to 14 Sandal scored a long range try when from a ruck in their own 22 they found young winger Harry Bairstow outnumbered on his own with no cover to match up the numbers and a basic 2 on 1 gave the Sandal centre the run of the field to score.

Just before the break the kestrels hit back when Matt Beasty stole the ball at a line out and the resulting drive saw Josh White peel off near the line to score. Jarrad Toulsond added the extras to take the half time score to 13-12 in favour of the home side.

The 2nd period started brightly with the Kestrels exerting pressure on the home line and were held up twice on the 1st occasion Liam Goldthorpe was over the line and laid on top of the ball to score the ref said he hadn't seen it.

Sandal then had a spell of possession and when awarded a further penalty again opted to kick for goal from 40 metres out this time the kicker was well off mark and with the ball bouncing in the cleck in goal area, a rush of blood (probably from his mask) from Bairstow saw him dive full length to try and catch the ball knocking on in goal in the process. A decision he was left to explain in the later fining session to the whole clubhouse whilst standing on a chair.

The resulting 5 metre scrum saw Sandal ship the ball wide to their speedy winger to score.

Two further Sandal scores late on in the game put a bit of an unfair reflection on the score board. One when the 9 put a crossfield kick out wide which bounced perfectly for the wingman to score his 2nd.

The last 5 mins saw the referee lose control of the game and with time running out cleck were pressing when Matthew Hadfield took exception to the Sandal props use of his studs in a ruck on a cleck players back.
Hadfields reaction was a well practised impersonation of an Octopus on dry land after which point the ref blew for time.

The Kestrels team are playing in a league of a far higher standard than they have played in before and add to this they have around half the team from last season missing which has resulted in a baptism of fire for some of our young teenagers of which we had 8 on Saturday. The learnings they take from these kind of games will take them forwards over the next few years.

There are some positives to come out of the game the continued good work of Josh White who is playing consistently well and developing in to a very good number 8
Jack Seddon again put in a good performance with some good hits and cover tackles
Matt Beasty continues to be dominant in the line out and his all round play getting around the pitch.
Carl Masons experience in been in the right place at the right time is proving invalueable.
Max Sowden had a good 60 minute run returning to play after 3 years out
Tom Brook was the pick of the back line with some surging strong runs

The kestrels have played 8 games this season won 4 and lost 4 in a league that was always going to be testing so its not all doom and gloom and still lie in the top half of the table.

Thanks also go to Bob Wilson for another well organised bus trip taking in the landmarks of Wakefield and the Escape.