Skipton 17 Leeds Corinthians 10

A COLD westerly wind greeted the teams at Sandylands for the first Yorkshire Four league encounter of the New Year.

Skipton kicked off with the conditions in their favour and soon scored a try from home-crowd favourite Harry MacEneanie following flowing forward play. The try was converted by stand-off Michael Mullins to establish a 7-0 lead.

A penalty for going over the ball in the Corinthians' 22 gave Mullins an easy chance to extend the home side's lead to 10-0.

Great interplay between Skipton's forward and backs followed and only a dropped last pass prevented a further try.

This was made up for five minutes later by a try under the posts for Matty Langstaff, following the best tackle seen at Sandylands this season from hooker Chris Sheenan who drove his man back a full five yards. Mullins converted for a 17-0 lead.

Leeds Corinthians worked their way up the field from the restart via a series of penalties but Skipton recovered possession from a five-metre scrum and cleared the ball downfield.

Young Redver Stork-Flatley picked up a tendon injury chasing a kick through and had to retire just before half-time.

Skipton's talisman Luke Stockton returned to action at wing forward for the second half. He has been sidelined for several weeks with a dislocated thumb.

Corinthians kicked off for the second period with the wind behind them and soon opened their account with a converted try.

Smooth work by Stockton gave Skipton an advantageous position in the visitors' 22 but they could not convert it into points.

Using the wind to their advantage, the visitors worked their way down field and were rewarded with a penalty, which was converted to reduce the deficit to 17-10.

A war of attrition then developed between the sides with possession and territory passing back and forth. Skipton were determined to keep a firm grip on the win and played with real tenacity.

A fantastic period of forward play from Skipton tied Leeds Corinthians down in the last five minutes and ensured that they emerged with a well-deserved win which has boosted their chances of securing the second promotion place in Division Four.