West Park vs Yarnbury U15s

After a fantastic Yorkshire Cup quarter final win the previous weekend, Yarnbury had only this trip to West Park before a semi-final fixture against Dinnington. West Park could not field a starting 15 and had to borrow forwards Carter Proctor and James Longhawn in the first half and Harvey Goodall and Leo Mercer in the second.
Yarnbury dominated a fairly lack lustre first half where play was dominated by mistakes and wasted chances, however West Park had the first “chance” when a break from their own 22 took them up to within 10m of the try line and from which they were awarded a penalty because the Yarnbury defensive line was offside. The home side opted to kick for touch, but kicked it dead, and Yarnbury were able to clear their lines from the ensuing scrum. Yarnbury began to dominate territory and possession, but a number of half chances were not taken from knock-ons, poor passingor poor decision making. However, good work by Jack Briggs and Sam Brown ensured that possession was not lost for long. Lex Galloway made a good break that nearly resulted in a try but play was brought back for an earlier penalty on the West Park 22. From this the ball was moved wide but the last pass to Jacob Rawsonallowed him to be easily tackled into touch. West Park took this lineout and passed the ball behind their own try line, in which the ball carrier was tackled, leading to a 5m scrum. The ball was then secured and passed wide to Darwin King, to score the first try of the game. The conversion was missed, but after 16 minutes Yarnbury led by 5.Yarnbury attack straight from the kick off with a good break by Jamie McDonnelldown the wing but the ball is lost in contact. Jack Briggs is on hand to win a turnover, releasing Edward Greento break in centre field and the overlap is exploited when the ball is movedwide toOscar Andrewsto score half way between the posts and the corner flag. The second conversion of the game is missed, but Yarnbury extend their lead to 10.
From what looked like a fairly dominant position, Yarnbury’s lead was reduced as 2 breaks by the quick West Park winger led to a try; the first break was stopped by a tackle byDarwin Kingthat left him with a shoulder injury, and the secondresulted in Edward Greenbeing penalised for an illegal high / swinging arm tackle 2m from the Yarnbury try line. West Park decided to pick and drive from the penalty and eventually crossed the line in the corner. The conversion was missed and after 28 minutes the score was West Park 5-10 Yarnbury. In the final minutes of the half Yarnbury went back on the attack and had several chances to score but had to make do with a penalty 5m out for offside at the breakdown. Edward Green tried to take a quick penalty but was called back by the referee. The second attempt was passed to propDan Mitchell who was tackled short of the line but quick ball allowedfellow propHarvey Goodallto be driven over the line to score. A final conversion of the half was missed, leaving the half time scores West Park 5-15 Yarnbury.
West Park kicked off the second half and Edward Greenmade a convincing break from his own 22, making the try line after a weaving finish seemingly sapped him of all his energy as he crashed over to score. The conversion was completed byHarry Dunnwhilst Edward Green left the field of play injured.In the 7th minute an attempted Maxwell Lee chip kick over a pressing defence bounced kindly to the West Park winger to break down the wing. He looked certain to score before aJoe Pilling ankle tapbrought him down. West Park recycled the ball and were able to score their second try close to the posts. However, the conversion was missed: West Park 10-22 Yarnbury.
The game was much more evenly balanced and midway through the second half the West Park winger again made a decisive break to score under the posts. The conversion was kicked reducing Yarnbury’s lead to5. Yarnbury responded with a good break down the wing where they had superior numbers but the ball was deliberately knocked on by a West Park defender. With advantage being played, the ball was eventually moved to the other wing but a poor last pass to winger Ruairi Daly was knocked on. The next West Park attack saw them get to within 2m of the try line before the ball carrier was tackled into touch. From the Yarnbury lineout a driving maul was set up that made 25m up the pitch. This was followed by attacks by Jamie McDonnell and Harry Dunn that moved play into the West Park 22, whereOscar Andrewsstepped through the defensive live to score under the posts. The conversion was kicked by Darwin King, restoring a 12 point lead.
West Park would not lie down though and received a scrum from the kick off after the ball was knocked on. A missed tackle from a tiring defence allowed the opposition centre to run through to score. The conversion was missed: West Park 22-29 Yarnbury. The momentum for the home side continued and they won a penalty that was kicked for touch in the Yarnbury 22. After a some relentless phases, the ball was passed to their winger to score in the corner. With 2 minutes to play they missed the conversion that would have levelled the scores.Yarnbury managed to regain possession following kick off and multiple phases ran down the clock as they moved into the West Park 22. A final move was stopped for a forward pass but fortunately the referee blew for full time. Final Score: West Park 27-29 Yarnbury.

Yarnbury:Dan Mitchell, Sam Brown, Harvey Goodall, Ruairi Daly, Lex Galloway, Leo Mercer, Jack Briggs, Joe Pilling, Maxwell Lee, Oscar Andrews, Jack Brownridge, Edward Green,Jamie McDonnell,Jacob Rawson, Darwin King (capt).
Substitutes:Luke Woodend, Carter Proctor, James Longhawn, Harry Dunn

Man of the Match – A lack of trophy made the decision to not award a man of the match somewhat easier. Honourable mentions were made to Jack Briggs, Joe Pilling, Carter Proctor (for his 1st half performance for the opposition), Dan Mitchell and Harvey Goodall.
Sporting Result of the Week – Crystal Palace 1-0 Burnley. Crystal Palace continue their remarkable run of form under Roy Hodgson who have now only lost once in their last 12 league games. The relegation battle in the English Premier League hots upafter Saturday’s results: Huddersfield Town 1-4 West Ham, West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion and Watford 2-2 Southampton (thanks to a last minute goal scored by Doucouré …… with his hand). With AFC Bournemouth beating Arsenal 2-1 today, there are now only 6 points between 18th(the last relegation place) and 10thin the league.