Huddersfield kicked off 2015 with an important 19-12 home win over struggling Luctonians in National II North.
The Lockwood Park side never relinquished a lead they took within the first five minutes, but it was by no means an easy ride for Gareth Lewis’s men on a cold and wet afternoon.
They made a great start with Dave Hall getting a try early on. Some quick thinking from Hall led to an exchange of passes with Nick Sharpe to catch Luctonians out, and he completed a simple but well-executed try.
Joel Hinchliffe added the conversion but Luctonians began to come into the game and pushed Huddersfield back, making their breakthrough on 15 minutes when a prolonged scramble enabled Sam Jones to eventually get the ball over the line.
The missed conversion left it at 7-5 with the first half becoming bogged down and sloppy passing from both sides the dominating factor – neither team quite at the races.
Huddersfield looked much improved in the second half, with the passing swifter and much more positive.
Again the breakthrough came early, with a prolonged attack.
It looked as though Huddersfield would score several times before the ball eventually went out to Ben Mitchell on the left wing, and he finished the move with a flourish and make it 12-5.
Luctonians fought back well again, with the overall standard of the second half being much higher and more competitive than the first.
Despite the efforts of the away side, a swift move from Huddersfield set Tom Owen away to increase their lead with a well-worked try, Chris Bell completing the conversion.
Huddersfield were now looking in control of the game, shutting down Luctonians and having the best of possession.
However, Luctonians caused a nervous last 10 minutes for the home crowd with a move across the pitch freeing up space for Jimmy Norris on the left wing to score, with the conversion by Geraint Langdon closing the gap.
That was as close as Luctonians could get though, and Huddersfield managed to see the match out fairly comfortably with Luctonians unable to break down their defence.
On the final whistle, tempers overflowed with members of both teams becoming involved in a scrap after a tangle between two players, which threatened to sour the win for Huddersfield.
However, referee Chris Bennett managed to calm proceedings fairly quickly on what was overall a very good start to the new year for Huddersfield.
