Off-colour Malt do just enough (From Gazette & Herald)

Off-colour Malt do just enough

Yorkshire Two

Malton and Norton 15, Northallerton 6

ALTHOUGH somewhat below their best, Malton and Norton still possessed too much fire power for relegation-threatened Northallerton.

However, the visitors soon had the first score on the board when Malton were penalised for holding onto the ball at a tackle, but the Malton reply was not long in coming. A long pass from fly-half Chris Creber found fullback Jason Simpson entering the line at full pace and he sliced through to touch down in the corner.

More was expected from Malton, but instead the pack seemed happy going through the motions without commitment. They did, however, increase their lead with a Will Barber penalty when Northallerton were penalised at a ruck. Malton were competing well at the line-outs through Duncan Foster and Richard Webster, but frequently lost possession in the tackle which kept Northallerton within striking distance of their target.

The low point of the half was a serious knee injury sustained by centre Andy Whalley when he was brought to ground following a kick ahead. Malton held out to half-time when coach Pat Stephenson tried to instil some discipline and fire into his strangely-subdued side.

The words of the coach appeared to have fallen on deaf ears as the second half began to follow the same pattern as the first. Far too often, wrong decisions were made and clearing kicks failed to find touch. Northallerton took full advantage with another penalty to reduce the deficit to two points.

Malton rallied briefly thanks to more good running from Simpson. He sliced through two tackles before handing on to debutant winger Lewis Papa to sprint over for his first try in first team colours. Barber converted to give Malton a welcome cushion which they held onto to until the final whistle.

It is the sign of a more-than-decent side when they can still win without being at their best. The next two games, at Skipton next week followed by a visit to table-toppers Keighley the following week, will be crucial in the quest for promotion.

Updated: 09:54 Wednesday, March 05, 2003