Yorkshire Silver Trophy Final

Leeds Corinthians 13 Skipton 8

THE agony of a last gasp try denied Skipton their first silverware for 50 years as they went down in the Yorkshire Silver Trophy Final at Bradford and Bingley's ground on Sunday.

The Skipton side hung their heads in bitter disappointment as substitute Russ Bradley went over for the winning try with only one minute remaining to end a gallant but ultimately doomed cup run.

The disappointment was all the harder to bear as Skipton could, indeed should, have won this match, so dominant were they in the first half. And supporters were left to point to a disallowed Adam Oldfield try in a gripping second half which might have decided things in their favour.

Pre-match predictions from supporters of Leeds Corinthians, challenging for promotion as Skipton flounder near the bottom of Yorkshire Division Three, about victory by at least 20 points were shown to be wildly over-optimistic. By half-time they were distinctly uneasy and when they finally crossed for the winning try the relief was obvious.

Only three times in that first half did the Corinthians get past the halfway line. One was straight from the kick-off when some untidy Skipton work - put it down to nerves - almost brought them instant reward.

The second incursion lasted for only the time it took for Oldfield to collect from a lineout and return the ball deep into Corinthians' territory.

Only at the very end of the half did they manage to exert any real pressure on the Skipton try line.

Instead Skipton, varying play intelligently, staged a ferocious assault on the favourites' line. Their scrum was in total command, frequently ruining Corinthians' possession from their feed, while Oldfield had the luxury of time and quality ball to weigh up the options before sparking Skipton's assaults.

In the loose Skipton were also dominant, turning over possession when they looked in trouble and driving hard off the rucks. It was only the lineouts which gave Skipton trouble. Corinthians won their throw-ins with ease but Skipton were increasingly ragged as the game progressed and consequently under increasing pressure.

Yet all Skipton had to show for their first half dominance was a 10th minute try when fullback Gary Heims joined the line and swift hands created an overlap allowing George Smithson to send him over.

It pointed the way to victory but Skipton alas never again found the sure hands to spark a similar attack. That, and some good defence from the Corinthians, somehow kept Skipton at bay.

Chances were there. Oldfield spotted a gap and threw out a basketball-style pass for Peter Wood to drive on and the confusion led to a Skipton penalty but Darren Howson could not add the points.

A drop goal attempt went wide, a kick was charged down but Corinthians managed to sweep up, a lineout right on the line was lost due to a crooked throw, so half-time arrived with Skipton a mere five points in front.

Skipton were never again to enjoy such dominance and quality possession. A string of penalties between the 20th and 60th minutes - at one time the penalty count was 16-3 against them - disrupted their flow and gave Corinthians the platform to mount their own attacks.

At first Skipton held firm. But as the pressure steadily grew, so the defence became increasingly stretched.

But how different it might have been had Oldfield's "try" stood. A kick through had set up the position and the scrum-half burrowed his way over to great cheers from Skipton's sizeable contingent. But the cheers died down as the referee's arm went up for a penalty and subsequent inquiries revealed he had judged an obstruction.

At the other end Brian Kelly kicked a penalty and there were further scares on the Skipton line. Neil King came to the rescue when Corinthians' forward Max Mliswa, a rugby league recruit, took a quick penalty when Skipton created the cardinal sin of turning their back on play but the hooker, the last line of defence, got across to barge him into touch.

Another try almost came when a surging drive from a lineout drove over the Skipton line but the Reds' magnificent pack held the ball up.

Finally, with 12 minutes to go, Skipton cracked. From a five- yard scrum Corinthians switched the ball to the blind side and winger Nigel Foster dived over to put the Leeds side 8-5 in front.

The Reds responded gallantly. King burst through and a penalty resulted which Howson landed comfortably to level matters.

But disaster struck just as supporters were trying to work out whether a replay or extra time would follow. Swift handling caught Skipton stretched out wide and Rhodes gleefully touched down his second try in the corner. Two minutes of injury time was never going to be enough for Skipton to respond.

Coach Rod Rush thought his side had performed magnificently but accepted that first half philanthropy had brought about their downfall.

"We should have had more points on the board at half-time. We knew some of our older players could blow up in the second half but they kept going well," said Rush.

"I thought Phillip was superb in an excellent pack. We knew we were going to dominate the scrums and we were in total control in that first half but if you don't take your chances you can end up being punished and we were.

"We might have hung on but their stand-off was very incisive. We bought too many of his dummies and in the end it just slipped away.

"I've been involved in a few finals and this was right up there for atmosphere and excitement. The town can be proud of its team but in the end they just didn't have the bounce of the ball."

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