York RUFC 21 v 19 Selby RUFC

Report by Ray Adamson

For the second consecutive week Selby were denied a deserved victory courtesy of a late penalty which saw them return from Clifton with just another losing bonus point, having firstly forced their way back into the match and then establishing the slenderest of leads as the game wore on.

The first twenty minutes of the game clearly belonged to the home side as their big, physical forwards took the game by the scruff of the neck. First to benefit was winger Will Dunlop who jinked his way over the try line after just 8 minutes, leaving a trail of would-be defenders in his wake. An excellent conversion by fly half Liam Hessay gave the hosts an early 7 point advantage and two further successful penalty kicks at goal after 16 and 20 minutes meant that Selby found themselves 13 points adrift with barely a quarter of the match gone. The game came alive for the visitors just 4 minutes later when they reduced the deficit through a try for their stand out player of the afternoon, Duncan Hardy. Pressure on the York defence forced them into a succession of penalties and a quick tap in the York 22 saw Hardy crash over for Selby's opening score. Unfortunately Iain Adamson was unable to find his range with the conversion but the visitors were back in the game. Further pressure from the Selby forwards lead to the York second row and Captain Chris Fox being shown a yellow card for a dangerous high tackle after 36 minutes. With a one man advantage and just 10 metres from the York line, Selby opted for a scrum from the resulting penalty, but were unable to make the most of the extra forward as York stole the feed against the head and were able to clear their lines. To compound the error York extended their lead on the stroke of half time when centre Gareth Singleton broke through the Selby defensive line to touch down for an unconverted try which re-established the home side's 13 point advantage.

Within 4 minutes of the re-start Selby at last made the extra man pay as Duncan Hardy benefitted from a powerful surge by the forwards to dive over by the side of the posts for his second try of the afternoon. Fly half Scott Hunt made no mistake with the conversion and Selby were back to within a converted try at 18 points to 12. With Fox returning to the fray shortly afterwards York held expectations of consolidating their position and they soon had a chance to kick at goal when, after 52 minutes, Selby conceded another penalty. Hessay was unable to convert and from the 22 drop out Selby crafted one of the best phases of play in the entire match. The forwards were alert enough to regain possession from the re-start and when the ball was passed to Adamson he launched a towering kick which he chased and caught on the half way line. A break down the right flank saw Ashton Dallimore given a clear run from 40 metres out only to be tackled into touch just a metre short of the line. The ensuing line-out descended into chaos and resulted in yellow cards being shown to Selby's second row forward Stephen Clark and York's flanker Campbell Thomson.

Selby winger Ben Lunt was denied a try just moments later when the referee judged that he had been held up over the line but there was no respite for the home defence as a pin point accurate throw at a Selby line-out created the space for number 8 Josh Booth to dive in under the posts. Hunt's simple conversion gave Selby the lead for the first time in the match at 19 points to 18 with just about a quarter of an hour left to play. York's response was immediate and a number of desperate tackles were all that prevented the home side breaching the Selby defence. However after numerous powerful drives the pressure inevitably took its toll and York were awarded a penalty which Hessay successfully converted to give his side a slender 2 point advantage. Despite throwing everything they had at the York defence in the remaining 12 minutes, Selby were unable to create the one telling moment that would have enabled them to snatch the victory as York held on by the skin of their teeth to record a victory which leaves Selby without a League win against the Clifton based side since January 2009.

This week Selby entertain fellow strugglers Old Crossleyans from Halifax in a must win fixture and given their recent dramatic improvement there is every reason for optimism in the Selby camp and amongst their faithful following.