Clayton thwarted by Drighlington try blitz

A three-try burst shortly after the half-time break paved the way to a Drighlington victory in a well-contested Premier Division encounter at Lidget Green.

The Villagers made all the early running and were unlucky to see a Scott Pendlebury grubber kick hit the posts and rebound into grateful visiting hands.

This was followed by a powerful break from full back Danny Belcher, which lacked the support at the vital moment.

A long, relieving kick downfield fell into the hands of Drighlington speedster Tom Moorby, who danced up field to establish field position for second row forward Jack Ormanroyd to cross from the play-the-ball, leaving scrum half Mick Sanderson to add the extras.

The introduction of substitute forward Callum Dinsdale attracted the visiting forwards like flies around a jam pot.

After two barnstorming drives, the gap appeared that gave scrum half Pendlebury the opportunity to sprint over. Belcher made no mistake with the conversion to level matters 6-6.

Clayton continued to press hard and they took a well-deserved lead when wingman Dan Giles shook off three defenders to reach the whitewash out wide. Belcher was again on target to ensure full reward.

Belcher made a crunching tackle on wingman Chris Cowling to prevent a try in the corner and the hosts were thwarted in the closing minute of the half when stand-off Jason Woolham failed to collect his own kick-and-chase inches from the try line.

The compelling question during the break was whether Clayton had obtained a big enough lead, with the visitors now having use of the slope.

The answer came on the restart when Drig stand-off Adam Newton collected an inside ball to sprint over, quickly followed by another fine effort from loose forward Gary Smith.

Wingman Moorby raced the length of the field in blistering fashion to coast under the uprights before Woolham repeated his earlier kick-and-run cameo and was successful on this occasion, leaving Belcher to add the conversion.

At 22-18, there appeared to be a window of opportunity for the Villagers but all hopes were dashed when Cowling raced in at the corner and then fast hands saw Sanderson plant the ball under the posts.

Tired legs were now very evident in the Clayton ranks and full back Nathan Lavin strolled through the defence for the easiest try of the game. Sanderson landed his sixth conversion to give Drig a comfortable winning margin.