Old Crossleyans 15 -
TEAM:
15 L. Thomas, 14 J. Wainwright, 13 J. Hammond, 12 N. Richardson, 11 J. Baker, 10 C. Jones, 9 E. Cockcroft, 1 A. Day, 2 R. Wheale, 3 D. Moloney, 4 C. Wood, 5 K. McGill, 6 M. Riaz, 7 R. Oliver, 8 D. Booth
Subs; J. Kavanagh, G. Ott, N. Sembi
CROCS DIM NORTHERN LIGHTS IN THEIR BATTLE TO BEAT THE DROP
by Ian Rushworth
Hope springs eternal for Crossleyans who gave their North One East survival bid a boost with a second home win in eight days.
The situation remains critical for a Broomfield side entrenched in the bottom three, but with nine games left there is still time to match last season's great escape.
A strong, gusting wind and rain in the final quarter made it difficult to play decent rugby and it was appropriate that the one sparkling piece of play during the contest accounted for the difference between the sides at the end.
Hooker Richard Wheale shredded the defence with an excellent run and player coach Chris Jones backed up expertly for a 32nd minute try, converted by scrum half Ed Cockroft, which gave the home men a lead they battled hard to retain.
After the surprise success against Percy Park the previous week, Crocs knew they needed to build more momentum against a Northern side only two places above them but with games in hand and on a run of three wins.
In the early stages the lineout looked set to be a key area of the game. While neither
scrum budged an inch all afternoon, Northern were ultra-
It took the visitors only eight minutes to cash in. Crocs open side Danny Booth was penalised in a ruck and Northern set up a driving maul from the subsequent kick to the corner and lineout catch. When the hosts stopped Northern's progress illegally, scrum half David Kay weaved his way over from a quick tapped penalty for an unconverted try.
Crocs responded positively and were level after 14 minutes. Cockroft and skipper James Wainwright took play close to the Northern line and intense pressure eventually lead to an overlap on the left, Wheale running in after Jack Hammond had palmed the ball on to him to save time before the cover came across.
Cockroft's kick blew away to the right and the score remained 5 -
Northern threatened again through the lineout catch and drive but a handling error brought relief to Crocs.
Home kicks for position invariably resulted in the ball landing in the hands of an opponent but what half breaks were made throughout the game came from Crocs, taking advantage of less than decisive tackling from Northern.
Wainwright and Joe Baker both penetrated the visitors' line but support was lacking.
However, Cockoft's chip resulted in Baker taking play to the 22 and Jones's try was
the ultimate reward, Cockroft converting for a 12 -
Northern fullback Kris Borthwick reduced the deficit with a penalty two minutes before the break, Cockroft's attempt to reply shortly after being thwarted by the wind.
After a succession of turnovers at the start of the second period, a penalty put Crocs on the attack and they had a territorial advantage for much of the next 30 minutes.
Northern's domination of the lineout wasn't as marked and Crocs retained possession without being held to create any scoring opportunities.
The only points of the second half came with eight minutes left. Stand off Jones
is frequently first to the break-
Northern made determined late efforts to save the game. A knock on close to the try line brough temporary relief for Crocs, Cockroft's clearance to touch from the scrum making just 18 metres.
Booth was yellow carded in the closing seconds and Crocs were relieved to hear the final whistle as they defended in front of their own posts.
Skipper Wainwright thought his side had deserved victory because they had threatened more with the ball. "Two wins in a row gives us a bit of a lift for next week, when we go to Middlesbrough," he said.