MALTON & Norton RUFC suffered a 35-17 derby defeat to York at Clifton Park in North One East.

The Ryedale side led 17-7 at the break but were brushed aside by their hosts in a disappointing second half.

The visitors conceded a penalty within 30 seconds of the whistle, a situation from which York took full advantage pressing for Malton's line.

An early scrum looked ominous, with a hefty shove by York and a pickup by their number eight who charged down the wing to be bravely blocked by youngster Joe Browne, who paid for his courageous tackle later in the game with a concussion decision by Malton's physio.

The first 10 minutes were dominated by York in terms of possession and territory but Malton took the lead.

A kick to touch by James Bulmer was kept in play by York and the speedy Browne, following up, ripped the ball from York's winger and fed Vus Dyantjies, who in turn passed to Bulmer.

His dancing feet took him to the line for acting skipper Matt Bowman, as ever in support, to go over for an unconverted try on 11 minutes.

York again took over in terms of territory and possession and a penalty on Malton's line resulted in the inevitable try, converted by fly-half Declan Cusack, who has tasted rugby at the high tables of Munster and Leicester Tigers among others.

Living off scraps, Malton rarely visited the home half, but a quick tap penalty on 34 minutes fed the barnstorming Ali Fothergill.

His determined break saw him brought down five metres short, but the supporting Will Bell took the pass to score under the sticks for seven points.

Six minutes later a similar break by Fothergill gave Bell his brace, this time not converted.

The half-time score of 17-7 was not a true reflection of the game.

Malton's terriers in the back row, including Jamie Rounthwaite making his seasonal return out of position, were scavenging for the odd scraps of turnover ball which had allowed for the three break out tries against the run of play.

York had dominated both territory and possession by at least 70 per cent to 30 per cent and Malton needed to achieve parity in those areas to defend their 10 point lead.

The second half opened ominously with a seven-pointer to York on 43 minutes following a penalty and a quick tap and scamper to the whitewash from close range.

Malton lost acting skipper Bowman on 55 minutes to a yellow card decision and York scored either side of the card for seven-pointers on 50 and 57 minutes to effectively put the game beyond the visitors.

Malton stuck to the task and visited the York half several times in the final quarter, but lacked the firepower to go over with final passes not going to hand and fatigue not surprisingly a factor.

York registered their final score on 63 minutes with a winger going over and the conversion giving Cusack five out five off the kicking tee.

The final act of the game was the administering of yellow cards to Charlie Read and a York player for fighting on 77 minutes.

Regrouping is the order of the day for next week's visit of Durham City, newcomers to this league.

At this early stage of the season, Durham have the third highest points differential of 64 and lie seventh in the table, equal on 11 league points with Malton who are in ninth position.

Malton: Ali Fothergill, Joe Browne, Will Bell, Vus Dyantjies, Paul Angus, James Bulmer, Chris Inman, Simon Thompson, Bailey Lamb, Peter Hopkins, Sean Emms, Charlie Read, Tom Lowry, Jamie Rounthwaite, Matt Bowman (c). Subs (all used): Nick Salisbury, Nathan Pratt, James Machin.