Fantastic five for Chester

While the leaves have been falling this month, Chester have been rising up the National Two North table and have ended the month with five straight victories after a tough start to the season.

The Cheshire side lost three of their first four matches, but have turned their fortunes around in recent weeks leaving them fifth in the table and firmly in the promotion hunt.

Just three points separate the top three sides in National Two North as things stand. League leaders Caldy beat the Luctonians to stay at the summit while second-placed Sale overcame Harrogate and Sedgley Park edged out Stourbridge. 

Elsewhere in the division, Leicester Lions kept pace with the frontrunners after a narrow win over Wharfedale and newly-promoted Hinckley made it back to back wins as they beat Scunthorpe.

Caldy 39-21 Luctonians

Caldy maintained their lead at the top of National Two North thanks to a victory over battling Luctonians in a compelling match at Paton Fields.

Caldy led 26-9 at half-time, but had to fend off a spirited Luctonians fightback in the second 40 to extend their unbeaten run to eight matches.

Wing Nick Royle scored twice for the home side with Tom Concu, JJ Dickinson and Jack Lavin all crossing.

Ben Fowles and Aiden Cheshire added to Louis Silver’s first half penalties, but the Luctonians could not clinch their first win in three matches.

Sale FC 37-13 Harrogate

Sale FC remain two points behind Caldy as they battled to a bonus-point win over Harrogate at Heywood Road.

A Joe Kelly try and eight points from the boot of Liam McGovern were matched by Harrogate in the first-half as they were awarded a Penalty Try while Charlie Morgan added the extras.

‘Gate came into this clash bottom of the table and their first-half performance showed they are much better than their league position suggests, but they were unable to build on that in the second 40.

Winger Jack Moorhouse went over for Sale before Scott Rawlings and Tom Ailes both touched down to round-off a strong second-half display for hosts who have now won all five of their home matches this term.

Sedgley Park 27-24 Stourbridge

Sedgley Park reignited their National Two North season with a thrilling bonus-point win over Stourbridge at Park Lane.

Last year’s runners-up actually found themselves behind at half-time with Stourbridge on top thanks to a Billy Harding try and eight points from the ever reliable Luke White.

Sedgley came storming back with a try from Andrew Riley and Steven Collins kicked a penalty.

Stourbridge’s Ashley Elves sped over to put his side six points ahead on 64 minutes but that advantage was immediately clawed back as Riley dotted down for his second to make it 21-20.

White then nudged his side in front from the tee six minutes from the end, but it was Sedgley who had the final say as the league’s top try scorer, Jonny Matthews, crossed for the hosts to clinch the victory which leaves them just three points behind Caldy.

Wharfedale 21-23 Leicester Lions

Wharfedale put in a valiant display but it wasn’t enough for victory at The Avenue as Leicester Lions came away from Skipton with a narrow win.

The visitors led 16-7 at the interval thanks to a Devon Constant score, a drop-goal via James Grayson and eight points from the boot of Jon Boden while Wharfedale responded with a converted try by George Altham.

The second-half was a tight affair before the home side brought themselves right back into the contest as Josh Burridge touched down to reduce Leicester’s lead to just two points.

However, Dale’s chances of completing a comeback were dented when George Hedgley was yellow-carded heading into the final 10 minutes and the Lions took advantage of the extra man as Jamal Harrison crossed.

The Lions had a nine-point lead, but the home side hit back in the final play of the game to secure a losing bonus-point as Harry Bullough dotted down.

Chester 30-14 Sheffield Tigers

Chester made it five straight wins to end October as they beat Sheffield Tigers at Hare Lane to move up to fifth in the table.

The Cheshire side led 17-7 at the break through tries from Will Bown and Will Morecombe, with Henri Packard replying.

A try from Craig Ross extended the score to 23-7 before Louis Townsend grabbed Sheffield’s second try of the afternoon to give them a lifeline.

However, Chester did well to control the tempo of the game and sealed their victory 11 minutes from time as Guy Ford powered over to continue Chester’s excellent recent form.

Preston Grasshoppers 20-22 South Leicester

Jacob Heath’s late try gave South Leicester a narrow victory against the Preston Grasshoppers at Lightfoot Green.

Flanker Nick Cairns and Rickie Aley crossed in the first-half to give South a slender 10-8 lead with Pete Altham replying for the Hoppers and Lewis Allen doing the business from the tee.

Allen continued to be accurate with the boot after the break as he nudged over two penalties to give his side the lead, but Preston were pegged back as Gareth Turner dived over the whitewash to make it 17-14 to the Midlands outfit.

That advantage didn’t last long though as Allen slotted over another six points to put Preston back in front, but the home side could not hang on for victory as Heath dotted down in the corner with four minutes remaining to steal the win.

Otley 39-21 Tynedale

Otley ended a run of just one win in four matches with victory at Cross Green against Tynedale.

Winger Paul Petchey scored inside the first minute for the hosts before Tom Hodson, James Wood and Henry Roberts all crossed to give Otley a 24-0 interval lead after a dominant first-half display.

Hodson added his second try 12 minutes into the second-half before Tyne got on the board for the afternoon thanks to a William Miller score.

Four minutes later a blistering run saw Henry Hadfield go over, Ashley Smith slotting home the extras.

Hodson then eased any Otley nerves as the landed a penalty heading into the final 10 minutes, but Tyne came back at their hosts once again as Jack Harrison darted over in the corner.

But it was Otley that had the final say as Wood forced his way over for his second of the day to wrap-up another home win for his side.

Scunthorpe 11-15 Hinckley

Hinckley made two wins on the bounce as they clinched victory over Scunthorpe at Heslam Park.

Hinckley, who were promoted alongside Scunthorpe in May, led 12-8 at half-time after tries from Glen Murray and England U20 international Jacob Umaga.

Umaga landed a penalty just after the hour to keep his side 15-8 ahead before the hosts reduced Hinckley’s lead to three points as Steve Johnson slotted over his second penalty of the afternoon.

However, that is all The Greens could muster up as Hinckley held out for their second victory in as many weeks to move away from the bottom places in National Two North.