BRADFORD Salem gained revenge over Dinnington in spectacular fashion on Saturday, winning 64-5 to extend their fine run in Counties One Yorkshire.

This was a third league win in a row for Neil Spence's side, and they currently sit in sixth.

But they started the season poorly, losing four of their first five games, one of which was at second-bottom Dinnington.

Their 33-15 defeat that day is still their second-heaviest of the season, and saw them suffer at the hands of Jonny West, who was on song with the boot to help his side recover from a 10-9 deficit at half-time.

However, following that result, and, perhaps significantly, in the absence of West, Dinnington went 13 games without a win.

That losing run only ended the Saturday before this one with a 24-12 home victory over fellow strugglers Leodiensian.

At Shay Lane on Saturday, Salem put the record straight in no uncertain terms as they crushed their visitors, scoring seven unanswered tries in the second half.

In excellent playing conditions, Salem took an early lead when flanker Nick Fontaine broke down the blindside to score a fine try to put his side 5-0 in front.

Salem then had a chance to extend their lead only to be denied by a forward pass, but when the hosts were caught offside, Dinnington No.8 Michael Leitch scored from a catch and drive to bring the scores level at 5-5.

Salem soon regained the lead when swift handling in the backs and a nice cut-out pass from Callum Smith put hooker James Brown over in the right corner.

Three minutes later, Salem went further ahead when a break by Sam Allan and a clever inside pass from Murphy Kupe put Harley Robertshaw in under the posts, Jake Green landing the simple conversion to put the home side 17-5 up after 20 minutes.

The rest of the half saw poor discipline from both sides leading to one yellow card for Dinnington and two to Salem.

Despite having a two-man advantage at one point and a string of penalties in their favour, Dinnington were unable to get the score they desperately needed, as Salem held their 12-point advantage going into the break.

The second half began with Salem still down to 13 men but they made light of their disadvantage when second rower Ben Whitaker broke through several would-be tackles before sprinting 40 metres to score a brilliant individual try to give his side a 22-5 lead.

Just over 5 minutes later, Whitaker latched on to a long Smith pass before running through Dinnington left winger Steve Thompson for another superb solo effort, which Green improved to take the score to 29-5.

With Salem now back to a full complement, there was a sense that the floodgates might suddenly open and so it proved, as a well-worked move in the backs created a try for Josh Charnock, Green adding the extras for a 36-5 lead.

Straight from the restart, Fontaine burst through the middle but was hauled down short of the line.

However, this reprieve for Dinnington proved to be short-lived as Allan showed both strength and pace as he broke through a tired-looking defence to score between the uprights.

Green landed the conversion once again to extend his side's lead to 43-5 with just over 10 minutes left on the clock.

A big carry by skipper Christian Baines soon got Salem back on the attack and slick handling sent Green sprinting over for a try he improved himself to get the hosts beyond the 50 point barrier,

Salem were now in total control, and they bagged their ninth try as Fin Southcott plucked an attempted clearance kick out of the air before running and diving under the sticks, Green's conversion making the score 57-5.

In the final play of the game, with Dinnington looking like they might get a consolation score, Smith picked up a loose ball before running the length of the field to score a great try, which Green improved to seal an emphatic 64-5 victory.

Keighley are still second in the same division, but the chasing pack are closing in after they were thumped 38-7 at fellow high-flyers Old Rishworthian on Saturday.

In Counties Two Yorkshire, Baildon are still in the promotion hunt after thumping Leeds Corinthians 55-6.

Rock-bottom Bradford & Bingley lost their 19th game from 19 this season in Regional Two North East, going down 57-14 at home to title-chasing Malton and Norton.

Finally, in Regional One North East, Cleckheaton know they will be settling for a mid-table finish now, sat in seventh after a 27-14 defeat at second-placed Driffield on Saturday.