Moortown 35, Baildon 14; Rugby Union, by Bill Marshall.

Baildon paid the inevitable penalty on Saturday for losing their first 11 league matches in Thwaites Yorkshire Division Three.

They broke their duck in the most amazing fashion at home to Hessle on January 15, and have won three other league matches since.

But it was only delaying the inevitable - especially as Old Rishworthians only had to draw one of their last four matches to send Baildon into Yorkshire Four North next season whatever the Jenny Laners did.

Baildon coach Kenny Pollard still sounded bitterly disappointed yesterday.

"My conversation wouldn't have been up to much if you had interviewed me straight after the match," he admitted.

"I had a few words in the dressing room and club skipper Phil Wilson had a few words.

"We didn't do ourselves any favours in the way we played before Christmas.

"There are a lot of things we could blame a bad season on, like the number of injuries and people not training, but we have been pro-active and are looking forward to next season."

Moortown are third in the table and Baildon are bottom, but there were no clues to that in the opening ten minutes.

Baildon ran in two tries to lead 14-0, and Moortown hadn't showed anything.

First Gary Strauss, who made a strong start in the second row, embarked on a powerful diagonal run and skipper James Dawson - Baildon's best player - was on his shoulder to accept his pass and force his way over.

Then centre Chris Smithies crashed over in typical style after an initial dart by flanker Jimmy Lyons had been repulsed.

Full back Andy Whitley converted both, and Moortown's joint coach Alan Green admitted afterwards: "I didn't think there was any way we could come back after a start like that. That was the worst ten minutes we have played all season."

Pollard said: "Anyone who didn't know at that stage would have thought that they were the bottom club and we were third, but it was disappointing the way the wheels came off after that.

"They went up a gear and our general lack of fitness told in the last 20 minutes. We made some mistakes and the scrum deteriorated later on.

"We have still not mastered the art of stringing it together for 80 minutes."

Green added: "When we played them at Baildon in December it was a tough match and we only won 16-11.

"But by half-time on Saturday, when we were 14-13 down, I felt we had the capability to hit back with that slight breeze in our favour.

"In the first half we had been a bit loose, and that was still the case in the second half."

Skipton (first), Leeds Corinthians (second) and Moortown (third) are still level at the top on 28 points with a game left, but Green said: "There is a rumour that Skipton could lose two points because one of their New Zealanders was ineligible for a match."

Skipton are at home to Stocksbridge (eighth) in the last batch of league matches on April 15, while Leeds Corinthians are at home to Barnsley (fourth) and Moortown are at Hessle (seventh).

Moortown's revival began with a penalty by full back Simon Pogson, then right winger Dave Lyons showed a clean pair of heels to the Baildon defence to make it 14-8.

Whitley hit the inside of the far post with a kickable penalty, the home side scrambling the ball into touch, and Strauss almost forced his way over for a try as Baildon still gave as good as they got, but the writing was on the wall by half-time.

Lock James Paddy had crashed over to reduce the deficit to a point at the interval, and Lyons quickly erased that with his second try early in the second half.

Centre Jeremy Noon's score on the left showed Baildon's lack of fitness, and prop Nick Oakes and replacement forward Simon Williamson added late tries, Pogson adding a conversion.

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