National League Three North: Cleckheaton 28 Firwood Waterloo 24

THERE were a few worry beads being rubbed at half-time at Moorend in a game that Cleckheaton pretty much had to win in their fight for survival.

The home side, who were fourth from bottom - just one place above a relegation berth - were trailing 21-7 to a team that were two places below them.

Cleckheaton's first-half tackling had been slipshod and they had failed to take advantage of their superior territory and possession.

However, having conceded three converted tries before the interval and an early penalty in the second half, they scored 21 straight points in the second half to notch a vital victory, although they left it until the last minute of normal time to get the winning try.

Cleckheaton's coach Scott Benton said: "We gave them three tries in the first half – two through poor tackling and one through a poor clearance kick.

"I told them at half-time that we needed to clear out at the ruck, don't miss one-on-one tackles, play in the right areas and then build pressure.

"And that, and some inspired substitutions by the coaching staff, brought us 21 unanswered points."

The upshot is that Cleckheaton have climbed above Morley in the table and the Moorenders' safety margin is now four points with three matches left.

Cleckheaton will probably still need a win against either Wirral at home on April 8 or Lymm away on April 22, plus maybe some bonus points, to ensure survival but their position if they had lost this match would have much more precarious.

It was all too easy for Waterloo in the first half as Tom Lavelle (second minute and 34th minute) and centre Matt Crow (32nd minute from a four to two overlap) scored tries, fly half Liam Reeve converting all three.

If the start and the end of the half belonged to the visitors from Liverpool, however, with Lavelle stepping out of three tackles for his first try in the second minute, the middle 25 minutes firmly belonged to Cleckheaton.

However, they couldn't make anything of sustained pressure immediately after that first Lavelle try, right winger James Wilson knocking on to end one attack and No 8 Richard Piper being held up over the line four minutes later.

Piper is a difficult man to stop from short range though and claimed a try in the 20th minute, full back Ross Hayden converting before missing a penalty from Waterloo's ten-metre line three minutes later.

Reeve also missed a shot at goal in the 39th minute, but it was clear that Cleckheaton still had much to do in the second half.

They didn't start well by not claiming the kick-off, leading to a scrum near their own line, and Reeve stretched the margin to 24-7 with a penalty four minutes after the restart.

Waterloo were still being presented with opportunities to extend that advantage still further as Dan King's pass to Crow on the right wing went astray in the 46th minute and Reeve hit a post with a penalty four minutes later.

However, Cleckheaton finally realised that patient and concerted attack could bring them reward when flanker Danny Vento went over in the 55th minute, Hayden converting.

Fellow flanker Jack Seddon twisted his way over six minutes later, with Hayden adding a magnificent touchline conversion from the left to make it 24-21.

Almost a quarter of the game remained, but although Waterloo slowed the game down at the set-pieces, it was they who were beginning to make some of the elementary errors that Cleckheaton had perpetrated in the opening 50 minutes.

A kick-off went out on the full and they were penalised for crossing by referee Dan Woods (North Group) after some hesitation in midfield.

Cleckheaton weren't having it all their own way, however, being pushed off their own ball in a promising position in what was becoming an increasingly tense afternoon.

In the 80th minute, however, willing lock Luke Pearson again carried strongly, and centre Matt Piper was up in support to pop a pass to Vento, who scored the winning try at some personal cost to a shoulder.

Hayden again converted, meaning that Waterloo needed more than a penalty to triumph, but there was still time for a couple of minutes more tension before Cleckheaton managed to snuff out Waterloo's final attack by pushing a visitor into touch.

Cleckheaton's players then roared and leapt into each other's arms and, although third-from-bottom Doncaster Phoenix had a 29-18 home win against Kendal to keep things tight in the nether regions, it was still a crucial victory for Cleckheaton.