Bradford Salem move up a place but are in greater peril!

BRADFORD Salem are wondering when the fates are going to shine on them.

This was their seventh defeat in eight matches in Yorkshire Division One and leaves them just six points above the drop zone.

However, they had set themselves up for victory in the first half at Shay Lane, turning round 14-10 ahead with the wind and the slope behind them in the second half.

But in a disappointing second half, they failed to either camp in Rish's half or, when they did get there, mount sustained pressure, chiefly due to a faltering line-out.

Nevertheless, a frustrated Salem coach Neil Spence is keeping the faith, saying: "We were not a million miles away here, we were not a million miles away against Old Brods (lost 20-18 at home) and we were not a million miles away against Scarborough (drew 21-21 at home).

"And I believe we have what it takes to stay up, although we had set the game up here by half-time.

"We should have played more to the Heaton Woods corner.

"The line-out functioned well in the first half but not so well in the second half."

Salem were helped in the first half by Rish knocking the ball on four times, and gave the Halifax visitors a lesson in clinicalness by scoring with their first attack.

Prop Conor Wood made the initial dent, and lock Elliott Cousins carried the attack on before flanker Sam Savage had the pace and strength to go over from 22 metres, with full back Danny Belcher adding a solid conversion.

With Salem No 8 Christian Baines skilfully picking the ball up from a retreating scrum to minimise one advantage for the visitors, it took a while for Rish to threaten the home line.

But when they did in the 22nd minute, they were held up over the whitewash, although two minutes later No 8 Gerard Rollings got on the end of a pushover for scrum half Ed Cockroft to convert.

In the 27th minute, Wood's high tackle gave Cockroft the opportunity to show his prowess with the boot, landing a penalty from just inside Salem's half to put them 10-7 ahead, but Salem still finished the half on top of the ledger.

With a player from both sides lying on the floor – Salem hooker Gundars Griekis got a blow to the face – Wood put Belcher away in the 34th minute, with the latter cutting a nice line towards the posts for him to convert his own try.

Rishworthians then kicked a penalty dead but Salem needed a thunderous tackle by Wood to halt another attack, although it was at some personal cost as he did not start the second half due to dizziness.

Hooker Simon Markey replaced him, but didn't quite get his radar right in terms of his throwing in to the line-out.

Baines was pulled up for a high tackle five minutes after the restart – high tackles seems to be an issue every week these days in matches that I cover – but another high tackle by a home player resulted in a more serious punishment a minute later.

Winger Anthony Shoesmith was running at pace, and referee Hanson Haigh (West Yorkshire Society) probably rightly ruled that he would have made the line were it not for the tackle and awarded a penalty try.

With no conversion needed these days, Salem were now trailing 17-14, and Cockroft was unable to add to Rish's tally in the second half, being short with penalty attempts from halfway (very optimistic) and from near the ten-metre line (more attainable, but he didn't strike the ball properly).

Visiting hooker Chris Stone then high-tackled Salem scrum half James Simpson and, in an atmosphere that was as tense for the last 20 minutes as in any match that I can remember, the hosts could not get any further points, despite Chris Clough making an impact off the bench.

The losing bonus point that Salem gained ironically moved them up a place ahead of North Ribblesdale, although the two losing bonus points that Selby gained at home to Hullensians means that the Heaton club are now six points, rather than seven points, above that crucial demotion line.