Amateur RU: Huddersfield produce winning finale

May 11 2009 by David Lockwood, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Winning finale for Field

Damian Clayton went close with a long-range drop goal attempt, while Hinchliff was wide with a 40-yard penalty as Field tried to stem the flow.

James Davies and Jack McPhail replaced hooker Chris Gough and prop Alex Battye and the double substitution certainly stiffened up the scrum, allowing hard-working No8 Nick Sharpe more time to take the ball up from the set piece.

Another substitution saw Steve Rothery on for Tom Truelove, with Damian Clayton moving back to full-back and he was to make a crucial tackle minutes later as Darlington threatened to score.

Field weathered the storm however, and with skipper Mark Whitehead eager to take the ball up at every opportunity they gradually began to exert some pressure again.

A clearance kick from the visitors was recovered by Rothery who broke down field, linked up with Hinchliff (George) who in turn gave a try-scoring pass to young Wilson to cross wide out on the left.

Hinchliffe (Joel) just pushed the difficult conversion wide, but it was a six-point lead which they were never to lose despite some frantic late efforts from the visitors.

Not surprisingly, coach Mark Sowerby was very pleased at the result and the way in which the young replacements acquitted themselves.

He said: “It was a very good result for us, and I’m delighted at the way the lads stuck to it and battled right till the end.

“We just have one game left now, next week at Kendal, and if we take another win there, we’ll move up the table, and it will be a great way to end the season.”

Huddersfield: Truelove (Rothery 60); Wilson, Whitehead, Van Rooyen, Shaw; Hinchliffe, Clayton; Slater, Gough (Davies 47), Battye (McPhail 47), Rhodes, Hinchliff, Jacobsz, Sharrock (Entressengle 65), Sharpe.

Darlington Mowden Park: Snook; Masserella, Kelbrick, Hodgson, Lister; Painter, Lithgo, Brown, Murray, Miller, Harston, Monument, Dannatt, Tonkin, Dawson.