Rejuvenated Malton move into top two (From Gazette & Herald)

Rejuvenated Malton move into top two

Yorkshire Two - Skipton 0 pts Malton and Norton 15 pts

Malton and Norton rediscovered their best form to move into the second promotion place in Yorkshire Two with this excellent win. Despite conditions being more akin to rice-growing, Malton produced some sparkling rugby in the first half and kept the large crowd well entertained all afternoon.

Early pressure from Malton failed to produce the expected try but the boot of Ian Cooke again came up trumps to open the scoring after five minutes with a good penalty to put his side on the victory trail.

The Malton pack were in superb form, providing high quality possession for the backs to cause their own problems in the Skipton defence. A number of drives to the home line were well held by Skipton, but scrum-half Jon Newsome spun the ball wide for the backs and winger Neil Gilbertson crossed for Malt's first try. The conversion failed but Malt had now gained the upper hand and only the slippery conditions prevented further scores.

Malton's injury jinx struck yet again when Gilbertson was forced to leave the field after half an hour with a hamstring injury to be replaced with yet another product of the youth scheme in Ryan Lonsdale, who was making his first-team debut.

Malton had the elements at their backs for the second period and kept up the pace well despite the ground becoming heavier as the afternoon wore on.

The back row of David Cooke, Andy Mitchell and James McKay, with Jon Newsome at their heals, were revelling in the conditions and proving too good for Skipton. Richard Webster and Duncan Foster were ruling the line-outs as Malton dominated possession.

From a ruck close to the home line, prop forward Rich Ellis picked up, sold a dummy, and strolled over to increase the lead. Cooke converted with another fine effort from wide out.

Skipton rallied briefly through some good drives from the pack but the Malton defence held firm, with strong tackling from fly-half Chris Creber and centre Lonsdale in particular. Such was the tightness of the defence, full-back Jason Simpson was in danger of suffering from hypothermia, so little did he have to do!

On a dry day this would have been a much greater victory for Malton. But the two points put Malton into the second promotion spot and gives them confidence for their toughest game of the season - a trip to table-toppers Keighley this Saturday.

Updated: 09:17 Wednesday, March 12, 2003