Great effort but, more frustration.

Heath travelled to the Dales in search of points to ensure Yorkshire One survival but had to settle for a losing bonus point when victory should have been theirs. Darren Neilly was unavailable so Joe Shipman came in for his first start of the season while Ezra Hinchliffe and Jack Sheldrake came back for the injured Mick Gleeson and Si Brown. Playing against a strong wind Heath had the worst possible start when they were caught offside and centre Jonny Moore put Ribb 3-0 up after 2 minutes. Heath quickly re-grouped and began to take charge with some good scrummage work helping the back row establish themselves. Stephen Hare and Alex Cust were prominent and linked well with Ian Downsborough who was starting to dominate. After 12 minutes Heath had a chance to score following excellent runs from Jack Sheldrake and Josh Lister and when Ribb hooker Ethan Henare was sin binned for a high tackle it was a chance for Heath to make their mark and open their account. However, the home side used the wind to their advantage and from a long kick Matt Baxendale was exposed and a penalty was awarded which Moore once again converted and Ribb were 6-0 up after 20 minutes. Once again it was Heath who had to start again and Captain Mark Puttick was eager to open their account. Following a scrum on the Ribb try line Downsborough picked out Hinchliffe and his sweet pass to Rob Thackray saw Heath score their first try in the corner. An excellent conversion from Hinchliffe and the visitors were in front 7-6 after 30 minutes. However North Ribb came straight back to score a try from the hardworking stand off Steve Moon and with Moore converting Ribb had the lead 13-7 on 35 minutes. Ribb continued to make use of the wind and as half time approached wing Simon Bolland went over for a converted try and left the home side in control 20-7 as the ref blew for half time. Hamish Pratt came on for Cust and had an immediate impact as Heath now had the advantage of the wind. With Pratt and Ryan Hunter commanding line outs Ribb were struggling to contain the Heath attacks and when prop Luke Mellin was sin binned on 50 minutes Ian Downsborough went over for a try on 51 minutes to pull the score back to 20-12 after Hinchliffe’s conversion hit the post. Heath were playing good open rugby to expose the home defence and it came as no surprise to see Jack Sheldrake score an unconverted try on 56 minutes 20-17. However, Ribb had a sting in the tail when Ryan Gill chased a long hopeful clearance and scored a try on 68 minutes to increase their lead to 25-17. Although Heath seemed in control they missed a great opportunity on 73 minutes to close the gap when Sheldrake skipped passed several opponents before releasing Downsborough but with the try line begging he chose to pass to Hunter and the ball fell short and the chance had gone. Continued pressure by Heath eventually saw Ribb give away a penalty which Hinchliffe converted, 20-25 but despite a frantic effort from Heath, Ribb stood firm and held on for a win. This was yet another game that Heath dominated but failed to come away with a win and they had to settle for that one bonus point when it should have been five.