York RI 7 Skipton 28

TWO tries for centre Liam Jordan and one each for winger Hamish Munro and full back Josh Crane kept Skipton at the top of Yorkshire Four with a comfortable if hard-fought win over York Railway Institute.

A superbly-timed pass by stand-off Carl Patterson in the opening minutes put centre Jamie Donnelley through at full pace. Donnelley shipped the ball out and Munro was over to open the score for the visitors. Patterson added the extra points.

Great forward work from the restart, with flanker Tom Craven to the fore, fed Patterson who threw a long pass to full back Crane who had come up to join the line.

Crane re-cycled the ball at the break down in the home side's 22 and Jordan beat three men to go over just wide of the posts. Patterson again added the extra points.

A penalty to York RI for Skipton handling on the ground put them into the visitors' 22 but no points were forthcoming despite some strong forward play.

A kick into the corner by Patterson from the line-out put his forwards down field and the ball was quickly re-cycled to winger Jon Currie who put Jordan over for his second try, the sure boot of Patterson again adding the extra points.

The next scrum was taken against the head by Skipton. The ball was sent down the back line but a last pass knock-on ended the move. Skipton disrupted York RI at the following scrum and gained possession from which full-back Crane ran in the visitors' fourth try securing the bonus point. Patterson added the extra points on the stroke of half-time.

York RI started the second half with a vengeance, securing a converted try after just two minutes. A good take at the line-out by second-row Rick Wilshire and a rolling maul by Skipton put Patterson away and he spun the ball down the line but a last forward pass denied a score.

An interception by the home side then spelt danger for Skipton but an excellent covering tackle by Donnelley brought the York centre down on Skipton's 22.

Coach Dave Duxbury then brought forward Charlie Brown on for his second appearance of the season and he was instrumental in the next move which put winger Jon Currie over but the ball was adjudged to have been held up.

The home side hit back with a good passage of play, forcing Skipton onto the defensive. A yellow card for Jordan did not aid their cause and although Patterson put Skipton into the corner from a penalty kick no further points were forthcoming.

The last ten minutes saw some determined forward play by York RI but excellent defensive work by Skipton kept them at bay.