BAILDON were at their opportunistic best as they claimed a Yorkshire Two derby victory on Yarnbury’s artificial pitch.

All three of the visitors’ tries in their 27-7 win came out of nothing – from Jake Duxbury running the ball out of defence having fielded a kick, from Oliver Murphy picking up a loose pass in midfield and from a Duxbury interception.

And while full back Duxbury and lock Murphy finished off what they started for Baildon’s second and third tries, Duxbury’s first-minute incursion laid on a try for scrum half Tom Parnell.

Parnell, who came north from Somerset to study at Leeds Beckett University and has stayed in Yorkshire, said: “We saw that we had a mismatch with their prop and, after some great footwork, we were in at the corner having capitalised on a two-on-one.

“We were very lucky in the sense of how our tries came, but we capitalised on their mistakes. Some may say that we were lucky and some not.”

Having gone 7-0 behind inside two minutes, Yarnbury were then offside at their kick-off, handing Baildon another opportunity, but the hosts rebounded well, with Callum Fawcett forcing Baildon into a goal-line drop-out after a neatly-judged kick ahead.

The hosts then charged down a clearance and, after a show-and-go break by Parnell petered out, Yarnbury were baffled as to why referee James Bex disallowed then a try in the 20th minute.

Winger Jack Bateson broke and cross-kicked infield, and centre Josh Bell was among two players chasing the kick, only for them to seemingly overrun the ball but ‘score’ on the follow-up.

Max Lee missed a shot at goal for Yarnbury two minutes later, but they found themselves 14-0 behind in the 32nd minute when Murphy gathered a stray Yarnbury pass and ran 60 metres to score, with centre Andy Robinson again converting.

Yarnbury, who claimed that Murphy was offside, finished the half strongly, however, with Baildon No.8 Jack Chapman opting to kick the ball from his own line, gifting Ben Crossman a try that Lee converted.

Bateson then had a try disallowed for crossing in added time that the home side again felt was an unfair decision.

Robinson missed a penalty four minutes into the second half, so Duxbury took the next shot at goal four minutes later and landed it from near Yarnbury’s 10-metre line.

Leading 17-7, Baildon had to bide their time before their next opportunity, with Duxbury intercepting near his 22 in the 59th minute before striding out down the right to score for Robinson to convert.

Former Wibsey and Bradford Salem player Robinson completed the scoring 12 minutes later with a penalty.

With Baildon prop Mo Jaidee lucky to escape a yellow card for a high tackle, the match ended rather scrappily, with several melees taking place.

Parnell, who was sin-binned, added: “The wind was swirling all over the place and half-time came at a decent time for us.

“Then Yarnbury lost their heads a bit in the second half. Mo definitely should have got a yellow, while I was sin-binned for a team offence.

“Playing on an artificial pitch suits my game, although the forwards may disagree from their point of view.”

Baildon are currently seventh in a congested mid-table but Parnell reckons: “We can finish in the top five. We just need to keep the ball rolling, although promotion is out of the question.

“However, the club are moving in the right direction with the Duxburys, who are such good organisers.”