Skipton 40 Halifax 23

A STILL November afternoon greeted the teams at Sandylands for Skipton's home encounter against Halifax in the second round of the Yorkshire Silver Trophy.

Good strong forward work from the kick off and sustained pressure led to a well-deserved early try for Skipton from Paddy Murray, converted by the reliable boot of Luke Stockton, this week starting on the wing for the home side.

Fantastic open play from the restart took Skipton up the pitch where they were rewarded with a penalty under the posts which gave Stockton no trouble as he established a 10-0 lead. However, two minutes later some slack passing lead to a penalty in Halifax's favour and they reduced Skipton's lead to 10-3.

A scrum back from the restart was sweetly taken against the head by hooker Chris Sheenan and a penalty against Halifax for going over the top from their resulting frustration increased Skipton's lead by a further three points.

A dropped ball on the line denied Halifax a try but a penalty under the posts a few minutes later allowed the visitors to add to their score. A breakaway try for Halifax was quickly followed by a further try from open play and the game seemed to be slipping away from Skipton, as the sides turned round with Halifax 16-13 up.

Shaun Barraclough came on at scrum half after the break to replace his brother Stuart, but a yellow card against Skipton centre Tom Courtney for not releasing did not bode well for the home side.

However, a further scrum against the head and a penalty for a deliberate knock on, converted by Stockton, began to demoralise the visitors and with the scores level Liam Jordan came on in the centre. Strong open play by both forwards and backs gave Skipton a try under the posts from full back Matty Langstaff, easily converted by Stockton.

Yet another scrum against the head lead to a converted try for the Skipton stand-off Jamie Donnelly and the flood gates were opened for Skipton. A five-yard scrum gave Jordan Wilson a well deserved wing forward's try and the home side led 35-16.

An interception gave Halifax a late try and things were still not settled with the score at 35-23 in the home side's favour, but great tackling from No.8 Ben Hall pinned Halifax down, with a late burst by wing Owen Higson ending just short of the line.

A late try from good forward work by Murray sealed the game at 40-23 for the home side.

This was a very satisfactory and morale-boosting win for Skipton who now look forward to the next round of the competition.