Hull Ionians 15 Wharfedale 16

WHARFEDALE headed for Brantingham Park on the back of a run of seven successive league defeats – and propping up the National One table from bottom spot. With the season not yet half over, pre-match talk of a ‘must-win’ fixture might have been a tad premature, but not by much.

The vastly improved spirited performance the previous week against Plymouth Albion had offered hope of a turn-round in the team’s fortunes.

From an inauspicious start the much-needed, thoroughly deserved, victory was achieved – albeit by the narrowest of margins and after the survival of a dramatic and agonisingly tense finale that stretched the nerves of Greens’ fans to breaking point.

The first half belonged mostly to Ionians, with their powerful pack making life very difficult for the visitors in the set pieces. They capitalised on territorial ascendancy and pressure with two tries within five minutes – first winger Aquile Smith finished off a defence-stretching move in the right corner, then lock Joe Makin took the honour on behalf of the pack after a smooth push-over.

Scrum-half Isaac Green added a conversion and a penalty – and might have had further chances had skipper Makin not persistently opted for penalties to touch. This option was negated by the Greens repeatedly digging deep to thwart threatening drives by the home forwards.

Wharfedale doggedly maintained a foothold in the game thanks to two James Guy penalties. Overall, they must have been happy to be just 15-6 in arrears at the break, particularly since they had to play out the closing stages without the services of sin-binned No 8 Rob Baldwin.

The second half was a very different story. Baldwin’s absence was concluded with no defensive alarms, and the Greens went on to dominate much of the proceedings. By the 63rd minute they had clawed their way to a 16-15 lead.

Having been a clear second-best in first-half scrums and mauls, the Wharfedale forwards now had near-parity in those areas. But it was their tenacious fluency at pick-and-drive – gaining territory, retaining possession and concurrently wearing down their opponents – that really turned the balance of the game in the Greens’ favour.

It was a concerted period of forward pressure that finally opened up the home defence for centre Cameron Hudson to mark his return to the side after injury by crashing over for a jubilantly received try in the 52nd minute. Guy converted, and the stand-off then added what turned out to be a crucial 35-metre penalty.

The Dalesmen retained the bulk of possession during the tense closing stages, and seemed the more likely to add to their score. However, Ionians were desperately close to a winning try with four minutes remaining. Sam Wilson, in the act of crossing the line, succumbed to a thunderous tackle by Greens full-back Maxime Labasse, the impact causing the winger to spill the ball.

That scare survived, Wharfedale looked to be seeing out the final minutes in relative comfort – but at the last gasp, in the concluding passage of play, there came a potentially heart-breaking twist.

Ionians secured the ball on the ten-metre line and mauled forward with sufficient threat to lure the backtracking Greens into conceding a penalty in a very kickable position.

It would be the final action of the match. With Isaac Green having been substituted it was down to replacement stand-off James Ferguson to determine the outcome with his sole shot at the posts.

Amid a breathless atmosphere, and in complete silence, Ferguson measured his kick. His strike had the height, and the distance, but the ball floated narrowly wide of the right post, sparking ecstatic celebrations in the Greens’ camp.

Wharfedale head coach Tommy McGee was fulsome in his praise for the whole team, but singled out Philip Woodhead for special mention. The scrum-half returned to the side after a lengthy injury absence, and just two weeks of training, playing a full and influential 80 minutes – ‘an example to all’ said McGee.

The result lifted the club off the foot of the table and it will face the final match of the year, at home to Fylde, with much-increased confidence.

Wharfedale: M Labasse; M Van Sertima, C Hudson, H Morgan, O Fewtrell; J Guy, P Woodhead; M Beesley, S Graham (D Stockdale 69), A Wade (R Cano 60), G Hedgley, S Willett, A Powell, J Burridge (A Myers 73), R Baldwin.