Stourbridge strengthen play-off bid

Stourbridge came out on top against promotion rivals Leicester Lions to keep their top two ambitions alive in National Two North.

The victory was also Stour’s 10 successive win at home this season and it leaves them seven points behind second placed Sale who battled hard to secure a win against Luctonians.

League leaders Caldy survived a scare against Otley but ultimately prevailed to extend their unbeaten run to 18 matches while at the bottom of the table, Preston Grasshoppers suffered yet another narrow loss as they were beaten by Scunthorpe at Lightfoot Green.

Elsewhere, Harrogate’s revival continued with a win over Sheffield Tigers, but relegation rivals Wharefdale once again fell to defeat late on.

Otley 27-52 Caldy

League leaders Caldy scored four tries in the final 10 minutes against Otley to avoid losing their first game since the opening day of the season.

The Wirral side were behind 27-24 heading into the final stages of this contest, but tries from Harrison Crowe, Forbes Edwards (2) and Jack Lavin turned this contest around.

Simon Verbickas’ side did hold a 14-point advantage at half-time thanks to a brace from JJ Dickson as well as scores from Ollie Hearn and Jack Parker, but Otley overturned that deficit as they ran in three unanswered tries to take a three point lead.

Momentum was with the hosts and it looked as though an upset was on the cards, but a stunning comeback by Caldy saw them come away from Cross Green unscathed as they extended their unbeaten run to 18 matches.

Luctonians 18-25 Sale FC

Sale FC came back from 12-3 behind to grind out a hard-fought victory over Luctonians at Mortimer Park.

Scores from Ben Fowles and Louis Silver put the hosts in control, but a try just before half-time by Sam Stelmaszek gave Sale a foothold in this encounter.

The visitors went ahead shortly after the break as Gareth Rawlings crossed, but a penalty from Johnny Morris edged the Lucts back in front.

But the side that currently sit in the play-off spot in National Two North showed their promotion credentials as a flowing passing move saw Andrew Hughes dot down which Liam McGovern, on his 100^th Sale appearance, was able to convert.

Morris gave Luctonians a lifeline five minutes from the end with his second penalty of the afternoon, but Stelmaszek grabbed another try for the away side to wrap up a fifth in a row.

Stourbridge 21-18 Leicester Lions

Stourbridge secured their 10^th straight victory at Stourton Park and moved up to third in the table as they won a thrilling match against promotion rivals Leicester Lions.

Tries from Ciaran Moore and Dan Rundle as well as five points from the boot of Luke White put Stour 15-10 ahead at half-time.

A score from Ollie Taylor as well as a conversion and penalty from Jon Boden was Leicester Lions’ response in the first period and they reduced the deficit to just two points after the break as Boden slotted over his second penalty of the afternoon following a yellow-card shown to Chris Scott.

However, two penalties from White gave the hosts a 21-13 lead heading into the final 10 minutes and despite a late try from Kane Nixon following waves of pressure from the Lions, Stour were able to hold out for a sixth straight win.

Tynedale 35-24 Sedgley Park

Sedgley Park’s promotion ambitions suffered another setback as they were beaten by Tynedale in a closely fought contest at Corbridge.

Scott Lawson’s side did have the slight edge throughout and they led this encounter 20-17 at half-time thanks to scores from Louis Frankland and debutant James Spencer as well as 10 points via the boot of Ash Smith.

Sedge grabbed their third try of the afternoon to go in front just after the restart, but scores from Dan Lowden and Spencer again as well as some superb kicking from Smith secured victory for Tynedale whilst Sedge fell to their second straight defeat.

Hinckley 6-8 Chester

Chester earned their third consecutive victory of 2017 as a late try secured them a narrow win over Hinckley.

The only score of the match came in the final five minutes which was enough to see the Cheshire side continue their good start to the New Year.

Both sides exchanged penalties in the first period with Joe Glover scoring Hinckley’s points, but he was sin-binned shortly before half-time.

Chester couldn’t use the extra man to make the first real breakthrough in this contest and Hinckley capitalised on that as they dominated territory. However, handling mistakes let them down and they had to settle with a Mark Lord penalty on 70 minutes to give them the lead.

But with just five minutes left to play, Chester barged themselves over from close range to secure the win which keeps them sixth in the table.

South Leicester 21-20 Wharfedale

South Leicester condemned Wharfedale to a narrow defeat as they snatched victory at Welford Road.

Rickie Aley’s late penalty was the difference for South after the lead changed hands several times.

South’s Blane Howe scored the only try of the first-half while Matthew Riddington kicked five points to give the hosts a 10-0 lead at the break.

A converted penalty try and two penalties from Jamie Guy saw Wharfedale turn the game around just before the hour, but Riddington was gifted the opportunity to level things up from the tee and he duly delivered.

The visitors then went in front for a second time as Adam Howard crashed over to give Dale a seven point lead with nine minutes remaining.

Aley replaced Riddington as kicker when he came off the bench and shortly after his introduction; South’s talisman crossed the whitewash to make it a two-point game and set-up a grandstand finale.

And it was South’s skipper that came up with the crucial score as he kept his cool to slot over a monstrous penalty to seal a third straight home win for the Midlands side.

Sheffield Tigers 14-19 Harrogate

A late Guy Coser try saw Harrogate continue their revival as they beat Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Tigers to secure their first away win of the season.

Mark Ireland and Sam Fox exchanged penalties to make the game 6-6 before a second-half try from Ed Simmonds as well as third penalty from Ireland looked to have put Sheffield on course for their first win in 11 matches.

But flanker Coser scampered home in the dying embers to give Harrogate a 16-14 lead which was extended when Fox landed his fourth penalty of the afternoon to round off the scoring.

Preston Grasshoppers 24-25 Scunthorpe

Tom Forster’s converted try sealed a last-gasp victory for Scunthorpe against relegation rivals Preston Grasshoppers at Lightfoot Green.

The visitors led 18-9 at half-time after tries from Oliver Cole and James Dyson wiped out three penalties from Lewis Allen.

Hoppers were quick out of the blocks at the beginning of the second period and were rewarded for their fast start as Niall Crosley and Sam Gale both darted over to give the divisions’ bottom club a 21-18 lead.

Allen slotted another penalty to extend Preston’s advantage, but in the final stages of this contest Foster sniped his way over from the base of a ruck to score under the sticks.

The afternoon went from bad to worse for the hosts as Phil Mills was sent-off for verbally insulting the referee and this latest defeat for Preston now leaves them 12 points adrift of safety.