Middlesbrough 13 North Ribblesdale 17

NORTH Ribblesdale overcame being reduced to 13 men in the second half to hang on for a much-needed win in a dour encounter at muddy Middlesbrough.

Ribb had to overcome a bitingly-cold wind as well as a strength-sapping pitch to secure their success. Their performance was characterised by the gritty play of their front five.

Skipper Matthew Speres was outstanding while Will Garth and Sam Boatwright brought some much-needed muscularity to the game.

Despite the tricky handling conditions, the Ribb back three of Adam Whaites, Simon Bolland and David Fox carried a threat all afternoon.

Ribb had the strong wind behind them in the first half and they took the lead after ten minutes with a penalty kicked by Michael Thwaite.

There was a worrying few moments for the Ribb supporters from the restart. The kick off was secured but rather than kick the ball downfield the forwards opted to try and drive forward. Thankfully the penny dropped and the ball was booted into the Middlesbrough half.

Ribb were dominant in the scrum and secure at the front of the line-out. Middlesbrough’s main source of set piece possession was the athletic Wardle.

The home side used this possession to smash into Ribb’s midfield but the grizzled veterans Pat Illingworth and Alex Naylor wrapped them up.

Loose kicks from Middlesbrough were collected by full back Whaites who made ground each time he ran the ball.

With the half coming to an end, the 3-0 lead looked inadequate as Ribb had to face the wind after the break.

With the clock running down, Ribb got Bolland away from inside their own half. He could not find the supporting Whaites but Mick Carr and Boatwright produced good work at the breakdown to create space for Speres to wriggle over for a try which Thwaite improved for a ten-point lead.

The second half was attritional and Ribb also got on the wrong side of the referee. This is a problem which needs addressing as it could easily have cost Ribb the game.

Despite Ribb edging the scrums, Middlesbrough had plenty of possession and stand-off Simon O’Farrell was a handful .

Middlesbrough’s main source of ground came from the stream of penalties Ribb gave away .

O’Farrell kicked one to reduce the deficit before the game’s big talking point. Thwaite was being sin binned under his own posts when scrum half Sam Gaudie tapped and went over with the referee’s back turned. Ribb were stunned when he allowed the score which was converted by O’Farrell .

The key features of Ribb’s win were their solid defence and strong tackling. They were weathering heavy Middlesbrough pressure when Bolland intercepted a pass and sprinted 80 yards to score. Thwaite converted to make it 17-10.

Middlesbrough needed two scores to win and they looked favourites as the referee gave another yellow card.

From the penalty, Middlesbrough put the ball into the corner but Mick Carr won the line-out allowing Ribb to retain possession for several minutes.

With five minutes left, Robert Bellperby dropped a goal, but Ribb held on once restored to 15 men to weather the late pressure. Middlesbrough batterd away but could not find a chink in the magnificent midfield defence.