Basics and poor finishing let Heath down.

Heath travelled across to Bradford minus some of their selection but never before had they been missing two players because of a Volcano! Olly Cook and Jarrod Morris both being marooned abroad. That aside, there were high hopes of reversing the less than satisfactory recent run of results though, unfortunately, a failure to finish off promising moves and some moments of weakness ultimately made a loss inevitable. Salem started; Heath took cleanly and ran the ball back, via number 8 Downsborough. A couple of penalties were then quickly given away, allowing the hosts to reclaim lost ground, with centre Chris Whata looking a strong runner in attack. Heath recovered and winger Si Brown set off on a run of his own, only to be pushed into touch before being within striking distance of the line. Ten minutes on and neither side had clearly gained the upper hand. Prop Jimmy Blackmore then sprained his ankle in a tackle and left the field. Captain Grant Turton moved up from secondrow to cover and Ryan Hunter came off the bench in his place. Salem were pressing hard at this stage and a deft chip over the defence nearly produced a score, but the ball was safely marshalled over the line by scrumhalf Neil Francis. That said, a penalty was soon awarded to the Bradford side and they went 3 – 0 from the boot of Davis. From the restart, play broke down and a scrum to Heath produced untidy ball, until Francis seized his chance and jinked through the defence. As he was chased down he kicked forward for winger Eddie Cartwright to follow. Salem’s fullback just got to the ball first and prevented a touchdown. Next, a fine break and run came from standoff Giles Hetherington who too was dragged down just short of scoring. A few minutes more and Heath had chance of points from a penalty, but the shot blew wide. However, an attacking position was maintained but then pressure came to nought as Salem eventually cleared dropped ball and the chance was gone. The hosts worked their way back into Heath’s 22 until a tackle round the shoulders produce ten minutes off the pitch for the defender, Hetherington. Salem were quick to take advantage of numbers as a simple move down the line and a forward drive brought a score out wide for prop Craig Buxton. The conversion was missed but the hosts went into the interval 8 – 0 up. Heath kicked to start the second half and straight away took play to the opposition with good drives from Downsborough, Montgomery, Shipman and Francis. Pressure told as an infringement brought 3 points from a penalty via the boot of Cartwright. More pressure followed, until a moment of madness when a wild pass down the line gave Bradford winger McManus an interception and a clear run to the line. Davies added the extras and Heath now trailed 15 – 3, but with most of the half still left to recover. Unfortunately, five minutes later, Salem were still pressing and a move down their line looked to have been stopped short, until one of the pack appeared off the back of the maul to sneak over in the corner for an unconverted try and a 20 – 3 lead. An appalling restart followed by an amateurish mix up in the 22 kept the pressure on and sure enough Whata appeared with the ball for Salem and jinked his way to the line and a converted try. 27 – 3. Perversely, at this point, Heath began to play with some spirit. Throwing the ball around and making impressive inroads into the host’s half and then the 22. Good ball from a line saw live-wire Dave Montgomery charge through and then Hetherington appear on the end of the movement to stretch over for a well-worked try. The conversion was missed. 27 – 8. More pressure from the visitors produced a few penalties and the sinbinning of Bradford scrumhalf Woodwiss. Pinched ball from a scrum courtesy of hooker Montgomery produced possession and position but, again, a chance went begging as the ball was dropped as it progressed down the line. Salem cleared; Heath’s Brown collected and ran it back to retain the initiative. Eventually, everything came together and this time pressure was turned into points as Montgomery broke free to dash to the line for a deserved try. Cartwright missed with the kick and the score moved on to 27 –13, leaving Heath’s following band of supporters to wonder if enough time was left to “sneak it”. There wasn’t, as Salem had the last word when a relieving kick from Davies left Cartwright stranded and then caught with the ball. From the ensuing penalty and drive, Captain and number 8 Falwasser popped up and ran to the line for one final score and for Salem to come out on top as 32 – 13 winners. Next week it’s off to the East Coast to play the rearrange game against Scarborough. A more consistent performance with better finishing will be needed to make the journey worthwhile. PICTURES: We've tried something different for this game. High res' photos were taken and there's around 200 of them that can be accessed / viewed at: - http://s930.photobucket.com/albums/ad144/craigwhelan/Heath%20Photos/ As a professional photographer took the shots pictures can now be bought at £5 for a 10"x8" print or £12 for 3. See Garf' or the site to order.