Scarborough 10

Yarnbury 10

AFTER scraping through in the Yorkshire Shield Yarnbury needed a dramatic improvement to have any hope of beating Scarborough away. Yarnbury had won the first meeting comfortably but Scarborough knew they had to win to stay in promotion contention.

The first-half of this top-of-the-table clash was too close to call. The sides were eventually matched and cancelled each other out. Most of the half was played in the middle and neither team really threatened to score.

The second period sparked into life. Yarnbury were pinned back in their own 22 but Scarborough failed to get past an impressive defence. Yarnbury attacked and Steve Galbraith gave them a 3-0 lead with a penalty.

Scarborough soon levelled up with a penalty. Then came the turning point and the game descended into a farce. After a few handbags at five paces Yarnbury hooker Phil Wray was spoken to and the referee decided to send the offending man off. Then to add insult to injury Scarborough were awarded a very controversial penalty try. Scarborough were attacking but were not in a scoring position. The decision baffled everyone.

Fourteen-man Yarnbury, motivated by the injustice, fired straight back. They battered the Scarborough line but good defence and needless penalties meant Yarnbury could not get through. In injury time Yarnbury had one last desperate attack. They won a line-out and eventually a huge overlap saw Ian Moule crash past three defenders to score.

Yarnbury were now two points down and they needed the conversion to level. A swirling wind made the kick even harder but Galbraith remained ice cool to add the two points with a fantastic kick.

The match was tied and Yarnbury's defence held off one last Scarborough attack. The game finished 10-10, a fair result, but arguably the game turned on the referee's decisions.

The result means the promotion race is still wide open with five or six clubs battling for the two promotion places.

l On Saturday, February 2, Yarnbury teams play Pocklington (all 2.15pm kick-off). The first and third teams are at home and the seconds and fourths at Pocklington.

On Sunday, February 17, at 1.30pm, Yarnbury U-16s and Under-19s are playing Club Olympique Tuchan (France). Entry at the gate is 50p. Sample French wine and cheese in the clubhouse by purchasing a book of tickets for £4.50.

Yarnbury Hornets 3

Brodleians Seconds 5

THE Hornets took on a strong Brodleians in blustery conditions. With the strong wind at their backs Yarnbury were camped on the visitors' line for long periods but strong defence prevented them from converting their pressure into points. The nearest Yarnbury came to getting on the scoreboard in the first-half were two penalty misses from Paul Oldridge and No 8 Aidy Moule being held up over the line.

With the sides turning round 0-0 Yarnbury were expecting a similar onslaught from Brods but a spirited team effort saw the Yarnbury pressure continue against the elements. Brods used the wind to pin Yarnbury on their own line at every opportunity but the home side somehow managed to gain territorial advantage through the hard graft of their forwards.

With Chris Wray excelling in the line and some strong bursts from Moule and his back-row partners Malone and Craven, the Hornets piled on the pressure. Finally, after their fifth attempt at goal, the Hornets took a deserved lead through fly-half Kris Lilley's penalty.

This spurred Brods into action and a quick tap penalty caught the home side napping with Brods' going in under the posts. With 15 minutes left Yarnbury were still in the game. Despite more pressure the Hornets still could not get over the try line and went down to a narrow defeat.

This was a much improved team performance and the Hornets need to build on this in next weeks away fixture at Pocklington.