Cleckheaton 3 Sandal 3

WITH only minutes left on the clock, Cleckheaton's unbeaten home record was well and truly on the line in this SSE National League Three North derby.

Leaders Sandal had more than 20 phases inside the home 22 covering two passages of play, and it seemed the dam must surely burst.

But Cleckheaton, who gave away four times as many penalties as the Wakefield club in the first half, somehow hung on until they were finally penalised by referee Peter Stentiford (North Group) in the 80th minute.

The shot at goal was halfway to the right touchline but Sandal fly half Mark Pease, who had missed a long but straightforward shot in the first half, could only succeed in hitting the outside of the near upright, whereupon Stentiford blew the final whistle.

"Overall, we are happy with a draw," said Cleckheaton right winger Lee Queeley, who is a electronic technician with the RAF.

"We knew that Sandal would be on top of their game and we gave away too many penalties in the first half but we have prided ourselves on our defence all season.

"From one to 15, we give 100 per cent and it was a massive effort by every one of the lads. We even survived in the first half when we only had 13 men."

Tours of duty to Afghanistan have taken 30-year-old local Queeley out of the picture at Moorend for long periods but the former Great Britain Armed Forces rugby league player added: "I hope to be available for the majority of the rest of the season."

On a pitch that was heavy but without a trace of snow, Cleckheaton seemed to be their own worst enemies in the first half, conceding double figures in penalties.

After both sides had shown they are adept at the driving maul, Sandal took the lead in the 12th minute when Pease landed a penalty from the 22 on the diagonal.

Cleckheaton could mount little pressure but with both teams not always being on the same wavelength, there was no addition to the scoreboard, despite Pease missing that 26th-minute penalty.

However, the visitors ramped up the pressure inside the final ten minutes of the first half, and Cleckheaton had second row Carl Mason sin-binned in the 35th minute for persistent infringements, capped off by coming in from the wrong side.

A minute later, the hosts were down to 13 men when prop Paul Turner was yellow carded for killing the ball on the floor.

Despite having a two-man sway, however, Sandal could not improve on their 3-0 lead, although they were lucky to still have 15 men on the field after skipper and scrum half Joe Bedford had elbowed his opposite number Jack Bickerdike in injury time after the Cleckheaton man had cleared his lines.

Trailing only 3-0 at half-time, it was equally important that Cleckheaton saw off the rest of the time when they were short handed early in the second half.

They managed this and then had a further shot in the arm when, after No 8 Richard Piper was in charge of a significant driving maul, they were awarded a 52nd-minute penalty but before play stopped, fly half Michael Piper landed a sweet drop to level the scores.

With neither side prepared to risk too much, they tended to kick the ball downfield to each other before Sandal mounted that severe late pressure.

Replacement Gareth Newman could have made the decisive break for them in the 75th minute when he cut down the inside-left channel but opted to go himself rather than passing outside, and the chance was snuffed out.

Home hearts were even more in their mouths three minutes later when Sandal flanker James Briscoe was adamant that he had scored a try – "the ball was on its point on the line" – but Whitby whistler Stentiford ruled that the ball was held up.

Defeat would have been harsh on Cleckheaton after their sterling defensive display, and they deserved the draw which leaves them in fifth place, while second-placed Sale have narrowed the gap on Sandal to a point after a 16-3 win at Morley.