HEATH MADE TO BATTLE FOR WIN BUT MAKE PROGRESS IN YORKS CUP

Photography

In addition to Garf', Andy Keighley and Vic Heritage came along and took some excellent photos.  These are in the collection aside / below (depending on viewing platform).

Selection
15 Sam Fletcher 14 Jake Haynes 13 Jack Bruce 12 Ezra Hinchliffe 11 Joe Morrison 10 Chris Johnson 9 Max Rowntree 1 Jack Pilcher 2 Alex McFadden 3 Chris Moore 4 Alex Patrick 5 Pete Hampshire 6 Ben Stringer 7 Harvey Keighley-Payne 8 Tom Clough 16 Elliott Knight 17 Olly Cook 18 Jonny Garrity 19 Jonny Cole 20 Ben Roscoe  21  Joe Gallagher. 

Scorers  
Harvey Keighley-Payne 1 try Chris Moore 1 try  Tom Clough 1 try  Joe Morrison 1 try 
Chris Johnson  3 cons 

Report
Heath entertained Morley in the first round of the Yorkshire Cup and welcomed back ex-coaches Sid Sayles and Rob Anderson who had taken over at the Leeds club during the summer. Twenty one players pulled on the Heath shirt, looking to impress and in front of a large crowd there was an air of excitement around the ground as the visitors kicked off, playing towards the river end.

Early play from Heath saw the Morley defence put under pressure but in their first inroad into the home half a penalty found touch in the corner. From the line out Heath did not react to the loose throw and Morley pounced scoring a converted try to lead 7-0 with only five  minutes played.

From the re-start Heath began to put pressure on the visitors defence and when a Morley player received a yellow card they capitalised. Ben Stringer soared high at the line out to collect the ball and then Alex McFadden drove towards the try-line, supported by Tom Clough -  captain Harvey Keighley-Payne finished in style to secure the try, converted by Chris Johnson and the scores were level, 7-7 with ten minutes on the clock.

Morley responded but Heath had found another gear and went back on the rampage and when Chris Moore charged over the line for a second try Heath took the lead 12-7.

From the re-start Heath's Tom Clough collected the ball and set off on a run evading several attempted tackles before chipping the ball towards the Morley try line. The Morley full back did not deal with this and the bounce favoured Clough who collected to score a third try under the posts and with Johnson adding the extras Heath led 19-7 with a quarter of the game played.

It had been a frantic start but, with Heath's Max Rowntree firing passes around, Morley were struggling to keep in the game, giving away too many penalties. On the half hour mark Jack Pilcher, Jack Bruce and Jake Hynes linked well before the ball came out to Joe Morrison who sped towards the visitors' try-line, but a loose pass evaded the supporting Tom Clough and the chance had gone. With five minutes left to half time Jack Pilcher and Harvey Keighley-Payne made way for Olly Cook and Jonny Cole as Heath continued to press, but it was the visitors who finished the strongest - though they could not find a way through the home defence, as the half time whistle sounded.

New signings Ben Roscoe and Jonny Garrity replaced Pete Hampshire and Ben Stringer at the start of the second half as Morley continued to press but an easy penalty was missed five minutes into the half which would have helped their cause. Jake Hynes made way for Elliott Knight to enter the battle and he was quickly into the pace of the game and after the Heath pack demolished the visitors pack in a scrum Tom Clough scooped up the ball before releasing Ezra Hinchliffe, who swung it out to Joe Morrison with the wingman rounding off a superb move with a try in the corner; converted once again by Chris Johnson and Heath extended their lead 26-7 with fifty-five minutes on the clock.

On the hour mark Chris Johnson was yellow carded and with Heath down to fourteen Morley took advantage, scoring a converted try under the posts 26-14 with sixty-five minutes on the clock. More changes by Heath saw Pilcher, Keighley-Payne and Stringer return with Chris Moore, Tom Clough and Alex Patrick making way, but they were powerless to prevent Morley from scoring another converted try 26-21 with plenty of time left to play.

It had been a frustrating time for Heath but when Johnson returned and Joe Gallagher came on for Sam Fletcher Heath were back to full strength and the battle continued. A charge by Joe Morrison saw the wingman held up short of the try-line but in the final minutes Morley pressed for another score to try and snatch the win. A penalty saw the visitors opt for a line out but when Ben Stringer stole the ball and found touch Heath had snatched the win as the referee blew for time. 

The game was a good advert for the Yorkshire Cup with both teams fully committed to entertaining the crowd. Heath had to battle against a Morley side who went after securing a win but fell short. A place in the second round for Heath awaits them with the draw to be made once the remaining first round games are completed by the end of the month.