Morley 18

Huddersfield RU 15

(National II North)

IT WAS a case of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s Show’ as Huddersfield fell to a late penalty at relegation haunted Morley.

After their Yorkshire Cup final triumph over Hull, it was never going to be easy lifting the side as Huddersfield continue to fit in League games re-arranged because of the dreadful weather during the depths of winter.

Coach Dan Hyde shuffled his resources, due to Chris Johnson’s selection for Lancashire, along with an injury to Ben Paxman and the need to rest one or two players.

But there was no sign of danger when winger Simon Pratt, playing at full-back, crossed for the opening try in the second minute at Scratcherd Lane and Tom Owen, stepping up to fly-half, converted for a 7-0 lead.

Morley’s full-back Chris Hall cut the deficit when he scored an unconverted try on 29 minutes, but the 10-point lead was restored, when Pratt joined the line and raced over for his second try before the break to send the visitors in 15-5 ahead.

But in the second half, either lethargy, complacency or just sheer tiredness kicked in and Huddersfield failed to provide any further threat, despite the introduction of James Davies, Ben Morrill and Alex Battye.

Morley got back into the contest with a drop goal from scrum half Ben Johnson, and then a try for their skipper Craig Field, with Simon Bradshaw converting.

Bradshaw missed a long-range penalty, but was handed a second chance in the final minute of the game, and this time he made sure to seal a victory which gives a Morley great chance of escaping relegation.

Huddersfield: Pratt; Wood, Hall, Paxman (L), Chirwa; Owen, Hinchliffe (Clayton 71); Slater, Lancaster (Morrill 50), Stringwell, Brown (Davies 50), Rhodes, Hinchliff (Dempsey 71), Lewis, Sharpe.

Morley: Hall, Marshall, Martin, Ash, Bradshaw, Benton, Johnson; Gabriel, Chivers, Benn, Smyth, Chamberlain, Moody, Mullarkey, Field. Subs Stannard, Evans.

Referee: Marcus Caton.