SSE National League Three North

Cleckheaton 36

Morley 7

CLECKHEATON continue to have the Indian sign over their SSE National League Three North neighbours.

This was Cleck's sixth successive victory over the Maroons in league or cup and was achieved despite them being down to 13 men nearing half-time.

Centre Matt Piper and flanker Ollie Akroyd were yellow carded late in the first half by referee Chris Binnie and scrum half James Wilson was given ten minutes near the finish, the former for not releasing in the tackle and the latter two for deliberate knock-ons.

However, the Maroons could only manage one try, despite so often having the numerical advantage as the hosts leapfrogged their opponents in the table thanks to a full haul of points.

Wilson, who knows he is only keeping the shirt warm until Jack Bickerdike returns from injury but is, by general consensus, doing okay in the role, said: "I used to play scrum half when I was a junior at Old Brods, and also in the junior teams at Cleckheaton, but we don't want to disrupt things by moving Matt Piper from the centre to play at nine.

"What won it massively for us here was our defence, with Danny Vento in particular putting in some big hits which lifted the whole team."

One curiosity of a derby in which Morley were for the most part subdued was that three of the first four kicks at goal struck the near upright and bounced out, Mark Chester doing it twice for Morley in the opening two minutes and Cleckheaton full back Ross Hayden likewise when he converted failed to convert Vento's try in the 23rd minute.

Cleckheaton were 7-0 ahead before that point after Wilson had dived American football style over a ruck to touch down, Hayden converting, and then the acrobatics of teenage centre Sam Wood in kicking the ball crossfield when he was falling backwards gave Vento, alone on the left wing, the chance to hack the ball ahead and dive on it for the second try.

The accurate kicking of home fly half Michael Piper and Cleckheaton's appetite for the tackle meant that Morley made no impression despite having two more men on the field, and salt was rubbed into their wounds in first-half injury-time when Hayden profited from lock Alex Dawson's break to get Cleck's third try, Hayden converting for 19-0.

Cleckheaton soon wrapped up the four-try bonus point in the second half when Wilson gathered a loose ball near his own 22 and ran 70 metres to score, beating an opposing lock on his way to the line, with Hayden's fine conversion stretching the lead to 26-0.

Dawson showed the hosts' keenness to keep a clean sheet when he tackled Morley right winger John Cranage into touch in the 56th minute but the pace and dancing feet of Morley full back Dante van der Merwe was not to be denied 11 minutes later, scrum half Kenny Hirst-Sewell converting.

Matt Piper's drop goal kept the scoreboard ticking and there was a popular final try for Wood in the 74th minute when he booted the ball downfield and was quick enough to be up in support to accept the try-scoring pass, although he still needed to sidestep a final Morley defender.

"As long as we keep winning our home games and nick the odd win away from home, that will do us," confessed Wilson.