National League Three North: Cleckheaton 16 Hull 5

CLECKHEATON lifted themselves out of the relegation zone with a hard-fought win against fourth-placed Hull in very wintry conditions.

On a day which didn’t suit expansive play, the home pack kept it tight, holding onto the ball for long periods.

Hull’s frustration led to them testing the patience of the referee and allowed the home side to exert sustained pressure.

However, despite winning the contests for territory and possession in the first period, Cleckheaton couldn’t break through Hull’s solid defence but did change ends in the lead thanks to a penalty goal from Ronan Evans.

With snow and hail falling and the wind at Cleckheaton’s back, the home team started the second half with an onslaught on the visitors' line.

After the pack had driven into Hull’s defence half a dozen times and were running out of bodies at the back of the ruck, centre Matt Piper picked up and forced his way over from close range, the conversion being narrowly missed.

Cleckheaton continued to dominate and Hull were finding it hard to get out of their half, with both Cleckheaton’s defence and the weather thwarting their attempts.

With an hour played, the referee held his arm out, signalling penalty advantage to Cleckheaton ten metres from Hull’s line.

Michael Piper seized the opportunity to try a speculative little chip into the in-goal area, and Mark Barlow was the quickest to react to score Cleckheaton’s second try.

Once again the conversion was missed but Evans did extend Cleckheaton’s lead to 16-0 five minutes later with a well-struck penalty goal from 45 metres.

Hull’s Lee Birch went in for a consolation try for the visitors with a few minutes left but the match and the league points were Cleckheaton’s as they leap-frogged Birkenhead Park and Huddersfield YMCA to fourth from bottom.