North 2 East: West Hartlepool 26, Malton & Norton 16

Malton needed to take the points away in this game, which saw their barren streak continue.

In the first half, West Hartlepool showed more commitment and passion than Malton, who were similar in personnel but unrecognisable from the side which did so well last week.

The first try came after just two minutes when Hartlepool drove the ball deep into the Malton 22 area before releasing it to the backs for inside centre Alan Milne to cross.

The next score came from a line-out catch and drive which allowed centre Peter Hodgson to cross and Dave Tighe to convert.

Malton struck back with two Ian Cooke penalties before he attempted an audacious chip over the defence in his own 22 area, when a big boot downwind was called for. The plan backfired, and the ball was cleanly intercepted for a try and conversion.

A further breakaway try in the opening minutes of the second period seemed to have secured the game for Hartlepool but Malton battled back to dominate large periods of the game.

Cooke got the reward with an almost solo effort when he took the ball in midfield and carved his way through to score under the posts. He added the conversion and Malton seemed to raise their game again.

However, more yellow cards meant that the game, which was played at a fast pace and never reached simmering point, was killed as a contest and Hartlepool ran out worthy winners.

Very few Malton players can be satisfied with their performance but Andy Mitchell was again outstanding and covered every blade of grass on the pitch. The two newer members of the squad, prop forward Adam Turnbull and second row John Dobson, can also look back on their performances with pride.

With yellow cards being shown to both sides with monotonous regularity, veteran Pat Stephenson made several appearances as an emergency front row forward.

The Malton injury woes continue, with Phil Ryan breaking his jaw after 10 minutes.

The first team fixture on Saturday against Bridlington will be preceded by a curtain-raiser match between Malton & Norton Under-16s and Bridlington, kicking off at 1pm.

Updated: 10:52 Wednesday, March 16, 2005