Macclesfield reign over National Two North heading into 2016

More wet weather hit the north of the country this weekend leading to two matches being called off, but for Macclesfield, they did not slip-up as they will be top of National Two North heading into 2016.

Their win over Chester means they are eight points clear at the summit and with Sedgley Park’s game against Caldy being one of the games postponed, it means Giles Heagerty’s men will be top of the tree at Christmas.

Stourbridge’s good run came to an end away at Sale FC and Sandal moved into the top four while the Luctonians’ charge out of the relegation zone continues.

Elsewhere, Leicester Lions made it back to back wins and Preston Grasshoppers’ surge away from danger rolls on.

Chester 10-35 Macclesfield

League leaders Macclesfield bounced back from their defeat to title rivals Sedgley Park as they claimed victory against Chester.

Lewis Barker touched down after great work by the Macclesfield forwards to give the visitors the lead at the break with Rhys Hayes kicking a penalty for Chester.

After half-time, three Macclesfield tries from Charlie Venables, Matt King and Mike Finnemore all but ended this contest as they secured their bonus point before Chester hit back with a try of their own.

There was still time for the Blues to claim their fifth try of the match as Elliot Brierley dotted down and with Sedgley Park’s match with Caldy postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, this win for Macclesfield means they will now be top of National Two North at Christmas.

Sale FC 13-10 Stourbridge

A Liam McGovern penalty secured a win for Sale FC over Stourbridge at Heywood Road.

With Stourbridge lying 3^rd the table they may have been seen as favourites to claim their fifth win in a row, but the hosts more than matched them throughout this encounter.

The scores were level at half-time with Josh Trinham going over for Stour and Chris Scott adding the extras, while the hosts’ points came from a try via Jake Pope and five points from the boot of McGovern.

Playing conditions worsened in the second period with both sides struggling to make any ground, but it was McGovern that secured the vital breakthrough as he kicked the winning points for Sale which leaves them ninth in National Two North.

Sandal 17-0 Tynedale

Sandal moved up to fourth in the table as they beat Tynedale in atrocious and wet conditions in Yorkshire.

A try from Sam Whittingham and five points via the tee from Greg Wood gave Sandal a 10-0 lead at half-time.

The weather was not aiding Tynedale as they struggled to get a foothold into this encounter due to the conditions, but points were wrapped up moments from the end as debutant prop Freddie Potrykus crossed to complete the win for Sandal.

Leicester Lions 12-3 Broadstreet

Leicester Lions made it back to back wins with victory over a battling Broadstreet side at Westleigh Park.

A penalty try for the hosts gave them a 7-3 half-time advantage at the break, but it could have been more if it wasn’t for some excellent work by the Broadstreet defence.

Debutant Charlie Beckett crossed for a try in the dying embers of this game to deny Broadstreet a bonus point despite a good second half display by the visitors.

Luctonians 27-19 Otley

The Luctonians are now just one point from safety after a bonus point win over Otley.

Dan Smith scored a brace as the Lucts, who have now won their last three matches, ran in four tries in total.

The Lucts touched down on three occasions before half-time with Smith, John Morris and John Kelly all going over to give the hosts a 20-5 lead with Johnathan Stannard scoring his first try of the season  for Otley.

The away side turned up the pressure in the second 40 as they were awarded a Penalty Try and a score from Michael Coady reduced the Luctonains’ lead to just one point.

The momentum was with Otley, but the Lucts stayed strong and sealed the win when Smith crossed for his second of the afternoon.

Huddersfield 6-32 Preston Grasshoppers

Preston Grasshoppers made the short-trip to Huddersfield but came away with a comfortable victory as they secured their third win in their last four matches.

Will Lees and Christian Taylor went over in the first half for the Hoppers with Chris Bell kicking two penalties to keep Huddersfield in touching distance.

Sean Taylor also landed a penalty for the away side as they led 6-15 at the break and after the restart they came out with the same intensity to take the game away from their hosts.

Taylor was involved once again as he rounded off a move down the right wing to score and convert a try and Garth Dew’s men secured their bonus point with a penalty try in the final quarter of the game.

Sedgley Park v Caldy and Harrogate v South Leicester were both postponed and their fixtures have been rescheduled for February 27^th 2016.