Victory snatched away in dying seconds.

Heath travelled to top of the table Malton & Norton in buoyant mood after a superb display last week, against second placed Sheffield. An unchanged 18 promised an exciting match. In the corresponding fixture at home Heath lost by the odd point and would settle for the same result this time but if in their favour. Heath kicked off in excellent spring like conditions and became encamped in the Malton 22. Constant pressure from the scrum put the home side on the defence. On 6 minutes, as Heath sucked in the Malton defence, a perfectly timed pass from Charlie Lomas put Martin Moana through to score under the posts and open Heath’s account. With an easy conversion for Matthew Hallett, Heath led 7 – 0. However, from the restart and with Malton’s first real foray into the Heath half, a cruel bounce sent the ball over Hallett’s head and into the hands of wing Josh Saunders. He went over for a try on 8 minutes and although the conversion attempt was wide, Malton were back in the match straight away at 7 – 5. Then, just 3 minutes later, following an infringement in the scrum, Malton were awarded a penalty that Tom Gravell converted to put the home side in the lead at 7 -8. Heath were panicking and not playing controlled rugby as Malton mounted yet another attack. Dave Montgomery and Ian Downsborough put in some excellent tackles to prevent Malton from going over but the hosts were awarded an easy penalty following a high tackle on 17 mins. Fortunately, Gravell’s attempt was wayward. A period of even play followed as Heath came to grips with the speedy Malton backs. As half time approached a clever cross field kick from Lomas forced the Malton fullback to take the ball into touch as Si Brown and Hallett bore down on him. From the lineout, Alastair Gordon grabbed the ball and the Heath pack surged over the line with Montgomery grounding for a try, not converted. Heath into the break ahead at 12 - 8. From the restart Heath conceded a penalty but fortunately Gravell did not have his kicking boots on and missed. A good kick and chase put Malton under pressure and when the ball came loose, Montgomery picked it up and had a good run. The game was picking up pace as both sides tested each other. Jarrod Morris was released to make a great run but he took the wrong option, choosing to run on instead of passing to Darren Fermoyle. Moana was next, as Malton began to crack under the pressure, then from a Malton scrum 10 metres out, a great surge from Heath allowed Downsborough to pick up and go over to score a simple try on 55 mins. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful but Heath were 17 – 8 in front. On the hour, Malton’s no. 16, Salisbury was sin-binned for a high tackle on Morris, giving Heath the chance to extend their lead against 14 men. Oliver Wilby made a brief appearance as substitute when Paul Bowen sustained a blood injury on 63 mins, but he soon returned to the field. Malton’s 14 men were mounting severe attacks but the Heath defence stood firm with all players willing to put their bodies on the line to prevent a score. A great pass from Lomas to Moana turned defence into attack and when Morris took play on and released Fermoyle it looked as though a try was on for the winger, but he was caught on the Malton 22 and the home side cleared. With 70 minutes gone, Malton broke clear with Salisbury back on the field and making rampaging runs. From one, he put Saunders away for his second try of the afternoon and this was converted by Gravell to make the score 17 – 15 and the game wide open. Gaps were beginning to appear in Heath’s defence as the Malton juggernaut No 8, John Dobson and teammate Salisbury powered through the visitors’ defence. A penalty on 76 mins saw Gravell convert and Malton edged in front 18 – 17. Heath were under the cosh in the final phases but still battling to pull back a score as the clock ran down and the final whistle went. This was a valiant effort from Heath who only lost the match in the last few minutes of the second half. The slick handling skills of the previous week did not feature as often, though Heath’s pack again more than held their own. Whilst Malton’s pace from the off was a step up, Heath adapted, quickly matched them and then turned the table to make the hosts play catch up. Heath were as disappointed to lose, as Malton seemed relived to have scraped home.