Odsal Sedbergh 12, Wyke 22

A late opportunist try from scrum half Sam Kittsen ensured a Wyke victory in their Pennine League Division Two local derby clash at Odsal Sedbergh.

The sides were all square with just minutes left on the clock when Wyke were awarded a penalty 30 metres from the posts.

Wingman Mark Teale pulled his attempt wide but when the Sedbergh defence tried to clear their line, Kittsen reefed out the ball in a one-to-one tackle to cross for what was the deciding touchdown.

Wyke had made the best possible start when second-row forward Ian Wormald came off his left foot to power his way over on the first attack of the game.

Sedbergh made use of the slope and wind to camp out in the visitors’ red zone and all the pressure bore reward when a flighted cross-kick from stand-off Ryan Exley found wingman Jarred Priestley lurking out wide, enabling him to plant the ball in the corner with inches to spare.

Hooker Steve Suddards slotted over the touchline conversion to give the hosts a 6-4 lead.

Wyke hooker Aidy Doherty caused panic in his former colleagues’ ranks with a 40-metre dash up the middle which set up field position for stand-off Ian Watkinson to offload to the mightily impressive Wormald, who sprinted in for his brace.

Wormald’s younger brother Mick added the extras to end the first half 10-6 in the Black and Whites’ favour. Odsal props Luke Sellers and Joe Baxter made their presence felt on the restart with some telling hit-ups as the wind and rain began to bite.

But Wyke increased their advantage with a Mick Wormald penalty after Sedbergh packman Justin Benn was caught pushing and shoving at the ruck.

Benn redeemed himself shortly afterwards when he collected a loose pass to power his way to the chalk, leaving Suddards to slot over the extra two points.

At 12-12 in the increasing gloom a draw looked the likely result, before the wily Kittsen struck in style for the game-breaker. The with the referee set to bring matters to an end with the whistle raised to his lips, Doherty caught the home defence at sixes and sevens to race over and crown a memorable display.

Teale massaged the scoreboard further with his conversion to ensure a total that did not do justice to Sedbergh’s efforts.