Skipton 13 Bradford Salem 25

With summer finally making an appearance, Skipton entertained Bradford Salem at Sandylands on Saturday.

The last time the sides played, Skipton was soundly beaten 67-0, but with a fantastic opening-day win under their belts, the players were keen to re-dress the balance.

Unfortunately a couple of silly errors undid Skipton’s good work.

Their pack was dominant and defeat was a disappointment after an encouraging performance.

Salem should not be underestimated and with their vocal and enthusiastic fans, the match was entertaining and competitive to the last.

Salem gave plenty of penalties away in the first 20 minutes but Skipton only managed to gain a three-point advantage courtesy of skipper, Darren Howson.

Skipton made a costly error after Salem missed a penalty.

The ball was kicked downfield enabled Salem to set up a counter-attack which resulted in their full back scoring a try.

Salem extended their advantage with a penalty before Howson closed the first-half scoring with his first penalty.

The second half saw less penalties but two further tries from Salem were vital.

With ten minutes to go, James Ackers glided over the touchline to bring the score to within nine points, but Skipton’s hope of a win or at least getting to within a seven-point losing margin to glean a losing bonus point, were denied when Salem were awarded another penalty which enabled them to add another three points to their tally.

Skipton lacked some of the flair shown in the win at Castleford, but Salem were smarter opponents.

Josh Beck gave an outstanding performance in the back row and Sam Harrison and Jonny Moore were a destructive force in the centres.

Jimmy Boynton, playing only his second game at this level as hooker, excelled in a dominant pack.

Team: C Wright, J Boynton, C Lambert, R Willsher, R Ingham, B Hall, J Beck, T Keady, A Baldwin, D Howson (capt), G Hall, Sam Harrison, Jonny Moore, James Ackers, Gavin Ackers-Johnson.

Reps: Simon Bygrave, Jordan Wilson, Shaun Barracough.