Skipton'S rearranged visit to Baildon may have been billed as a 'friendly' fixture, but there was more than enough competitive edge in the game to make an overdue 24-18 win worthwhile.

Baildon opened with the slope of their ground in their favour and they soon had Skipton under pressure.

When, after six minutes, the returning Paul Lacy missed a tackle on the right wing, James Dawson took full advantage to score an unconverted try.

Skipton quickly responded when full-back Brian Brocksom was held up over the line and from the resultant five-metre scrum Mark Davison was held inches short, but when the ball was recycled Grant Litt scored on the left wing and then also converted his own try.

On 18 minutes, Davison made another burst towards the line, which was followed up by Phil Lane. When the next phase of possession came Skipton's way, wingman Steven Cullen went over on the right flank to extend Skipton's lead to 12-5.

Baildon showed plenty of fire in what was basically a 'friendly' fixture and at times it boiled over into outright fisticuffs.

After Baildon had seemed to knock on, and then kick the ball dead, they were surprisingly given a five-metre scrum which resulted in Nicholas Lister scoring an unconverted try on the left.

Lane was forced to leave the field with a jaw injury, being replaced in the centre by Chuck Kepa, but it was then Baildon's turn to retake the lead when Lister slotted a penalty to make the score 13-12 at half-time.

With the slope now in Skipton's favour, they would have expected to dominate the second half, but after just three minutes Baildon extended their lead to 18-12 with an unconverted try from Ben Jones.

But for the rest of the half Skipton controlled proceedings, playing most of the game deep in Baildon territory.

After 62 minutes Davison again made the first inroads, which allowed the room for Kepa to score a try which was converted by Litt, and just five minutes later the stand-off played a clever run around move with his compatriot to touch down and extend Skipton's lead to 24-18.

The rest of the game was mainly notable for a lack of control shown by two or three of Baildon's more aggressive players, as well as the considerable leniency of referee, Syd Matthews, who did his best to ensure that no-one had to leave the field prematurely.

There would certainly have been cards produced if this had been a league encounter and not all may have had a primrose hue.

Although this was hardly a convincing display against opposition from two leagues below, it was at least a welcome win, which may start to boost confidence.

For Skipton, Litt, as usual, was prominent and Kepa had another solid game. Hindle was seen all over the park as his fitness starts to improve and Davison, as ever, led from the front.

A visit to Yorkshire Two leaders Beverley this week will certainly be a sterner test, but at least with the returning players Skipton's competitiveness may start to improve.