Kingstone Press National Conference League Division One: York Acorn 24 Bradford Dudley Hill 22

BRADFORD Dudley Hill were left questioning the amount of time added on by referee Nick Woodward in their 24-22 loss at York Acorn in National Conference League Division One.

Hill claimed that the official allowed an extra 16 minutes, including 12 in the second half, and the added time saw them lose their lead and the match, which was televised on FreeSports TV.

The visitors fell behind on 12 minutes when slick passing led to Jordan Potter crashing over, with Anthony Chilton converting.

Hill were level on 20 minutes when stand-off Dave Halley floated a teasing kick for Neil Wall to outjump two defenders and score, with Simon Sewell adding the goal.

A minute before half-time, Hill got a penalty for a high shot on Tony Williams for Sewell to make it 8-6.

On 43 minutes, an offload from Anthony Lawton put Aiden Batey through a huge gap from seven metres out when, out of nowhere, Acorn’s Tom Hill collared Batey round the head in the act of scoring.

The Bradford side felt unlucky not to get a penalty try from Woodward, who was in charge of the Bulls’ 82-6 Challenge Cup romp over West Wales Raiders, while Hill was fortunate to only see yellow.

Sewell notched the penalty for 10-6, and Hill went further ahead on 54 minutes when Williams’ kick again gave Wall the chance to leap above two defenders to feed centre Alex Dickinson, who put Andy Walker in. Sewell converted for 16-6, but Acorn scored two minutes later via Potter for Anthony Chilton to convert.

Dudley Hill crossed again on 69 minutes when the magical Halley drew the full back before finding Williams, who went under the sticks for Sewell to convert.

Then slack defending let Acorn’s Matt Woods in on 74 minutes, with Anthony Chilton’s goal making it 22-18.

Two stoppages led to Woodward’s extra time, and in the 84th minute, Acorn kicked to 6ft 10in winger Josh Thompson, who fed Potter for his hat-trick. Anthony Chilton kicked a late penalty to win it for Acorn.

The game then carried on until just short of 92 minutes before the final whistle went.

Dudley Hill's first-team manager Steve Wright said: "I thought we were absolutely fantastic.

"The mood in the dressing room at full-time tells you how much the lads fought for one another and how much effort they put into the game.

"Obviously nearly 16 minutes of added time contributed massively to the outcome, and we thought it was an issue of player safety as the light was darkening and there was only one side of floodlights that were closer to the training pitch.

"But Neil Wall was man of the match on FreeSports TV and had a big hand in our tries.

"Aiden Batey, who came in for some rough treatment but handled it well, and Tony Williams were superb in defence, with Tony causing havoc in attack.

"Plus Dave Halley is always going to be capable of some of the magic he showed.

"Tony Huby and I are so proud of the effort the lads put in, but they (Acorn) beat a tough side at home first time out and I thought we deserved to win the game."

Meanwhile, West Bowling found themselves 24-0 down after 20 minutes on their unsuccessful visit to Hull Dockers in Division Two.

The introduction of Elliot Cousins helped to shore up the leaky Bowling defence and two quick tries after half-time narrowed the deficit to 24-12 before the hosts reasserted their grip on the game to finish 42-12 victors.