Defeat against strong Pontefract side in 2nd round of merit

1. Whitworth   6. Wilkinson      11   Bruce

2. Wilby   7. Dawes   12 Beever

3. Morley 8.  Ward 13 Hinchcliffe

4. Milner   9. Cole 14 Saltonstall

5. James    10 Holmes   15 Cockroft

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Defeat against strong Pontefract side in 2nd round of merit cup

After last week’s disappointing first half performance, leading to defeat against Ripon in the league, Heath wanted to get back to winning ways. Pontefract travelled to Heath with a very strong side.

Kicking off on a blustery day, Pontefract were immediately on the attack through some very strong forward play. With a noticeably bigger pack, Heath were called upon to show strong defence, however after only a few minutes Pontefract, found good position in front of the posts, and from a rolling maul they crossed for a converted try 0-7

Heath had to regroup to avoid the match running away from them in the first period, as it had done last week. Heath attacked through great forward work , Milner and James were at the fore with strong charges . They found good position and in a mirror of the Ponte move, recycled the ball well , and James popped over for our first score. Cole missed they very difficult out wide. 5-7

Heath came back from the restart and a great kick through form Cole was chased by Saltonstall, the ball was touched down in goal , but the 22 drop out was taken too quickly, with several Pontefract players offside. Heath opted for a lineout rather than take the penalty chance, and they lost the ball at the set piece when it was adjudged not straight. Ponte ran the ball deep into the Heath half from the scrum, trying to regroup but on the back foot , our opponents drove forward and a neat chip from their stand out No10 , saw him collect the ball in goal and touch down for another converted score 5-14

Heath to their credit came back again, neat play along the back line found James out wide,  but his final pass to Saltonstall was adjudged forward.  Ponte again came back strong from the restart, with James injured on half way , Ponte made full advantage of the superior numbers , evading a poor tackle and they crossed again 5-19

Heath came back through a great charge down the wing from Saltonstall, winning a penalty again in a kickable position , but Heath went for a larger score . From the lineout the ball was secured, and James popped over for a try, which Cole converted well 12-19

The referee blew for half time and Heath were still in this game

Pontefract started the stronger in the 2nd period and again crossed early via a driving maul to take the score to 12-26.

From the restart Pontefract again showed their forward power, and drove forward several metres, Heath managed to repel and win a penalty to clear their lines. Heath attacked, and a great chip forced the covering back to carry back over his own line winning a 5m scrum to Heath. The ball was secured and Saltonstall was released and executing a great spin he touched down , but with the official unsighted , he asked the Pontefract touch judge who ruled  it to be held up. They failed to secure the scrum and the danger was cleared. This took the wind out of Heath for a period and Ponte took the game away from Heath with two quick tries, both of which were  converted. 12-40 . Heath regrouped and a try by Cockcroft was followed by a great sprint up the wing from Bruce . 22-40

With the last play of the game Pontefract showed the advantage of having a full bench , utilising a constant stream of rolling replacements , crossing for another converted score 22-45

This was a very spirited performance by Heath with limited numbers and also a couple of debuts. We take this into another tough match against Otley at home next week