Gabriel speed gets Sedbergh off mark (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Andy Gabriel speed gets Odsal Sedbergh off mark

4:10pm Tuesday 11th September 2012 in Sport By Mark Strother

Odsal Sedbergh 46, Selby Warriors 12

Odsal Sedbergh secured their first Pennine League points of the season with a fine Division Three home win over Selby Warriors.

Sedbergh possessed too much firepower for the visitors and ran out worthy winners.

The first ten minutes saw a battle for control of the park but it was Odsal who were to cross first.

Second-row man Alistair James made a break before feeding Shaun Flynn, whose neat pass allowed Josh Tordoff in at the corner. Flynn duly added the extras.

Sedbergh piled on the pressure and, with Selby struggling to cope, it looked like Scott Smith had extended their lead, only for the referee to rule out the score.

Selby then hit back when a nice show-and-go by stand-off Stevie Bell saw him breach the home defence before finding Elliot Redmond, who skipped over the line.

It was then the visitors’ turn to apply the pressure but Odsal held their line superbly.

With half-time fast approaching, Sedbergh delivered an incisive blow when a fantastic move saw the ball sweep through numerous hands before Kaine McEwan found winger Jarrod Priestley, who dived over out wide.

The conversion by Flynn and a further penalty gave the home side a deserved 14-4 interval lead.

If Selby thought they were in for an easier time coming down the slope, they were in for a shock as Odsal quickly extended their lead.

A fine run-around move from the base of the scrum between Flynn and McEwan opened up a huge hole for full back Sam Greenwood, who strolled over. Flynn goaled and Sedbergh were looking comfortable at 20-4.

Selby were in further trouble on 49 minutes when a flowing move found centre Andy Gabriel, who finished off a weaving run in style from 70 yards out. Flynn again added the extras.

Two tries in five minutes then totally ended Selby’s challenge when first Jonathan Ward crossed and then McKewan ran the full length of the field to dive over.

The visitors did not give in and were rewarded with tries from Paul Fellows and Matt Irving.

But it was Sedbergh who were to round off the scoring when James broke through to crash over, quickly followed by speedster Gabriel.

Odsal coach Gary Priestley was full of praise for his young side and said: “It’s great to get the win. The younger lads will get a lot of confidence from this.”