After days of continuous rainfall of almost biblical proportion, handling errors were to be expected. It was a credit to both sides that these were kept to a minimum given the conditions. Dale started well from the kick off restricting DMP to two short incursions into the 22. The following 5 minutes however set the tone for the rest of the evening. A disallowed try for DMP was immediately responded to with some slick work & two quick tries from DMP, both converted. Shear graft from Dale got Jack Pinder over the line after another 10 minutes, capably converted by Jack Greig.
The comeback wasn’t to last though as the DMP scrum half Benjamin Douglas went over for another try on 25 minutes, successfully converted by the standoff Flynn Ward; 21-7.
The half time team talk clearly helped Dale with an improvement defensively resulting in a much tighter display. The second period was also more productive for Dale than the first 40 minutes had been. DMP were down to 14 men following a yellow card shortly after the restart. A kick at goal was elected following a penalty award on the 22 in front of the posts. With the arrears down to 11 points it looked to be game on but the advantage was quickly lost as DMP matched our kick with one of their own for 3 points.
The last quarter of the match belonged to Dale. Some of the DMP players were starting to show signs of fatigue & the effects of one or two knocks were coming to the fore. Another converted Pinder try on 67 minutes brought a positive result into reach for Dale but despite significant pressure, DMP held out to win 24-17; a losing bonus point for Dale.
Wharfedale had a lot of possession & dominated for long periods over the course of the game. Effective strategic kicking by Jack Greig resulted in success in creating scoring opportunities but frustratingly, they couldn’t be converted into points.
Difficult conditions always meant that this wasn’t going to be a classic but the players from both sides did themselves credit. The effort & commitment from the green contingent was exemplary with some creditable cameos from Borrill in the line out & Jack Greig’s foot!
Speaking of effort & commitment, a special mention for the Bentley family. James made his debut last night; this was only made possible after Herculean efforts by his Dad following mechanical problems with his car at Ferrybridge. Well done!
Team captain for the night, Oli Cicognini, didn’t hide his disappointment at the result. “A disappointing first 20 minutes but after that we grew into the game. Defensively we improved over the last hour of play. We had a lot of possession in the (DMP) red zone but didn’t convert the opportunities. Overall, it is a disappointing result”.
A last mention too for the DMP forward & Wharfedale “OB” Talite Vaioletti who put in a full shift & still had a smile on his face at full time. What a guy to be still playing at this level!
After what promises to be a busy week for the laundry, we’re onward to Ionians next week. See you there!
Final Score: Darlington Mowden Park 24- Wharfedale 17
Referee: Andrew Shaw
Attendance: 812
Half time Score: 21-7
Scorers:
WHARFEDALE
Tries: Pinder 24 & 67;
Conversions: Greig 24, 67
Penalty: Greig 50
DMP
Tries: Callaghan 11; Checksfield 14; Douglas 25;
Conversions: Ward 11, 14 & 25.
Penalty: Ward 53.
Wharfedale Team:-
- S Dickinson (J Bentley 79), 2. Dan Stockton (R Collinson 64), 3. J Armstrong, 4. Z Heys, 5. S Borrill, 6. J Pinder (R Tweedale 79), 7. J Fawcett, 8. T Beresford, 9. I Morgan 10. J Greig 11. J Cherry, 12. O Cicognini, 13. B Viner, 14. O Bullock (A Haddon 41), 15. H Bullough (W Bell 79).