Dinnington 13 - 3 Pocklington
Pocklington's
league programme came to a close at Dinnington with a keenly fought game where
the result was in the balance right to the end until Dinnington made sure with
a converted try from the last play, twelve minutes into stoppage time.
The
game was dominated by the strong, bitter wind that blew straight down Dinnington's
exposed pitch. Pocklington chose to face it in the first half and found themselves
immediately under pressure. Despite being the form team of recent months, and
winning five of their previous six games, Dinnington were still one of four teams
that could have been relegated on the final day, and so were fighting for their
Yorkshire Two lives. They threw everything at Yara Phosyn sponsored Pocklington
for the first half hour but Pocklington's tackling was strong and Dinnington were
restricted to a single penalty in the 21st minute.
Though Pocklington were
on terms in most phases they found themselves under pressure in the set scrum
from the start. And Dinnington's scrum advantage became more emphatic when Pocklington
lost prop Simon Morrells with a sprained ankle. But Pocklington stuck to their
task, Dinnington were off target with a couple of long penalties, and Pocklington
lifted the seige through some strong runs by Scott Littlefair and deft box-kicks
from Ben Rees, ending the first half attacking the home line.
The wind looked
to be worth more than three points, and Pocklington kicked off the second half
in a good position. But this time it was Dinnington's turn to defend resolutely
and Pocklington were never really able to get a platform within sight of the home
line.
In hindsight, Pocklington made an error of judgement in the 52nd minute
when they were given a straight penalty in a kickable position but chose to go
for a quick tap when an overlap beckoned on the right. They remained camped in
Dinnington territory without exerting real pressure, and they finally got back
on terms when young prop Chris Morton's thumping tackle created a penalty that
Nick Bennett banged between the posts.
But to their credit, Dinnington, determined
to make sure they did not rely on other results for survival, upped their efforts
in the final quarter, using their superior scrum as a platform to attack. Dinnington
also had the advantage of a big penalty count in their favour and were able to
dominate possession, while Pocklington's fortunes took a further blow when skipper
Henry Mitchell limped off with a twisted knee.
Nevertheless, it remained 3-3
and Dinnington's anxiety, both on the field and the touchline, started to grow.
Dinnington then grabbed a crucial interception breakaway inside their own 22 and
broke clear down the right. Replacement wing Phil Drew saved a certain try with
a last ditch ankle tap, but Dinnington held the position and kicked a straightforward,
but pressure, penalty to edge ahead again with seven minutes of normal time to
go.
With their confidence boosted, Dinnington finished the stronger. The stoppage
time rolled on relentlessly for ten minutes and Dinnington thought they had sealed
it when they drove over but were adjudged to have been held up. They ran back
the drop out and this time broke through to score and added the conversion with
the last kick of the day.
When the rest of the results came through, it was
Goole that had gone down from Yorkshire Two, with Pocklington finishing fifth,
with one more game to come on Sunday week.