Skipton 27 Old Otliensians 8

With the visitors deservedly holding an 8-5 lead at half time, many in the large crowd wondered if Skipton would be able to raise their game sufficiently to maintain their promotion credentials writes Chris Windle.

At the end, however, a compelling second half performance, in which they scored 22 points without reply, was enough to comfortably secure a victory against opposition good enough to be in the top five in the division.

It seemed that Skipton had the perfect start to the game when in the second minute, and from the first back move, full back George Smithson burst through the defence. Although he was tackled just short of the line he stretched out to touch the ball down, but referee Bob Goldcup decided that he had seen a double movement and disallowed the score.

The visitors had the benefit of a strong breeze in the first half, but it was the home team that remained on the offensive, with Adam Oldfield having a chance of converting a penalty following a high tackle on Smithson, but the kick drifted wide.

When Skipton's backs were caught offside just outside their 22, Gillson accepted the opportunity to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.

Smithson was again taken out by a dreadful head tackle from Otliensians' player coach Hugh Gumbs, which caused the referee to pull out a yellow card. However he obviously had a re-think and allowed the offender to remain on the pitch. When only minutes later the full back was late tackled it seemed fairly obvious that the visitors had targetted the Skipton speedster for some rough treatment, and he was unlucky to receive a sin binning, along with visiting number eight Roberts, in the fracas which ensued.

Skipton suffered a blow when flanker Matt Jones tore a hamstring and left the field to be replaced by Robbie King, but within two minutes Skipton took the lead when good second phase possession saw the ball switched from right to left, creating an overlap. With the defence back pedalling, Darren Howson ran hard into the gap and scored a well- deserved try in the corner.

With five minutes of the half remaining Otliensians put in a long kick, which with the wind behind rolled over the dead ball line. Skipton took the option of a scrum back on half way, before the touch judge offered the opinion that the ball had been touched down, leading to another change of mind and a 22 drop out. A lack of concentration, no doubt caused by a sense of grievance, at the restart led to the visitors almost scoring a try, only a last ditch tackle by Duncan Brown preventing the score.

However from the ensuing lineout Otliensians mauled themselves to close range before scrum half Crossfield scored a try in the corner.

Although the conversion failed, the visitors returned to the attack and should have extended their lead with a huge overlap on the left, but poor passing saw the opportunity lost, allowing Skipton to reach half time with only a three point deficit.

The start of the second half was almost a mirror image of the first, with Smithson again bursting through and looking like scoring before a tap tackle felled him a yard short of the line.

It did seem that it wasn't to be the full back's day, but on 48 minutes he eventually did get on the score sheet when Skipton chose to run a penalty. Two forward drives from firstly Peter Jenkinson and then Myles McDuff sucked in the defence, before the backs were released allowing Smithson the gap he needed to go over under the posts with Oldfield tagging on the conversion to open up a 12-8 lead.

Gumbs again saw the yellow card for a block off the ball on Robbie King, but this time the card stayed out, and so did the ex Hunslet rugby league man, for a 10 minute spell on the sideline. From the ensuing penalty quick ball along the backs, created room for a Balshawesque run from Smithson, who scored a try worthy of the admission money on its own, Oldfield again converting.

Skipton were now well on top. McDuff had a great run, before passing to skipper Declan Hayes. He obviously fancied his chances of his third try in third games, but with just the full back to beat was tackled. When the ball was recycled a poor pass from Howson was well picked up from around his ankles by Andy Porter, who then kicked a drop goal to extend the lead to 22-8.

Deep into injury time further home pressure saw scrum half Duncan Brown sniff a gap down the blind side and he just managed to dab the ball down by the corner flag before being flattened into touch. The conversion attempt narrowly failed, and heralded the final whistle and a comfortable enough 27-8 win for the table topping Reds.

One cause for concern was the sight of McDuff leaving the field with a back injury five minutes from the end, old war horse Andy Phillip coming on as a replacement. The good news that came after the game was that close rivals York RI, this Saturday's opponents, had been beaten 32-16 by Halifax Vandals, giving Skipton a bit of breathing space at the top of the table.