Battling wins for top duo
IN-FORM duo St Joseph's and Moldgreen are still firmly in the Pennine League First Division promotion picture.
Both celebrated victories again at the weekend, with St Joseph's taking pride of place with their 38-26 triumph at Greetland All Rounders.
However, it was much closer for Moldgreen, who were forced to dig deep to beat Dodworth 10-4.
St Joseph's were missing 10 first-team regulars due to injury but played the conditions superbly to pick up a ninth win of the season.
An outstanding second-half performance made it possible.
They trailed 18-10 at the break after scoring tries through Martin Mosse and Darren Kelly, but then stepped up a gear.
With the pack leading from the front, the visitors soon took full control.
Romaine James grabbed his side's third try within three minutes of the restart and Shaun Mitchell quickly followed up with the fourth, converted by Neil Barrett, to give coach Jody Shaw's side a lead they were never to lose.
Further tries from Richard Brooke - following a bust and 40m run to the line - Mitchell and James and goals from Barrett sealed an excellent double for Saints.
"They showed real determination and grit to win, and I was very proud of them," said coach Shaw.
Moldgreen were also lacking a number of first-team regulars as they were forced to battle all the way to overcome Dodworth.
The contest remained tight throughout, with a Roger Simpson try and Neil Thornton conversion giving the hosts a slender 6-4 interval advantage.
Defences continued to dominate after the break, with a 70th-minute score from Gillan Warrington from a Thornton grubber sealing the win.
Simpson's first-half try helped earn him the man-of-the-match, with Gary Monkhouse leading the defensive effort with 37 tackles.
