The lads now have 2 games to get 5 points to get promoted as league champions.
One Win Away, One Win Away, One Win Away, One Win Away
Another super game at Le Parc du Acklam sees the Men in Maroon and Gold one win away from the Yorkshire Division 1 title.
The lads came onto the pitch through a guard of honour by our Yorkshire Cup winning under 15s side.
Having lost to Dinnington earlier in the season in a game where we received no less than 5 yellow cards, the lads were looking at reversing that result.
The points scoring started after 2 minutes when a rampaging Richard Lonsdale made a break down the middle before passing on to Pete Homan then to Andrew Baggett who, in turn, puts Charlie Bourne over in the corner, 5-0.
Next, after pressure from Dinnington, Bourne intercepts and gives it to bagatelle Brendan Hill who bounces off defenders before passing to Andrew Sloan who sets up lovely quick ball for Alistair Lang and his telescopic arm to score in the opposite corner, 10-0
A quick tap penalty from Baggy puts open side Rohan Brown through the tiniest of gaps to cross the whitewash, he then shows some good pace to out run the defence behind the line to make the conversion easier, which Baggett converts 17-0
I know that this reads as though it was one way traffic but this is far from the case as Dinnington are well in this match, in fact, they score next in the corner. An excellent attempt at the conversion out wide hits the post and goes wide, HT Boro 17 Dinno 5.
The second half starts with a try for Boro when a lineout ball is fed out to the Barraging Hill who bounces defenders off like a Pinball Wizard to score. Another Baggett con makes the score 24-5.
Another lineout sees the home team set up a text book catch and drive that was expertly steered over the line by Hooker Joe Sawdon for him to touch for the 5 pointer, 29-5
Next, sustained pressure from Dinnington, penalty after penalty being popped to their charging forwards. Then with Boro looking for the next big tackle, the scrum half intelligently taps and goes to score a try. The conversion was something to behold as the kicker slices it reminding this writer of Gavin Hastings’ miss versus England all those years ago. 29-10
More pressure from the visitors, but good instinct from Boro No.9 Chris McRobert who intercepts and feeds the ball to replacement wing Adam Nolson, this moves the ball up field away from our danger zone, we don’t score from this but it was superb defence then counter attack.
Another line out down in the red zone sees the ball passed along to Bourne who crosses for his brace with men to spare outside him 34-10
Straight from the resulting kick off, the ball is given to Man of the Match Jack McPhillips who sets off on yet another marauding run, he then feeds to Bourne and onto Nolson who sets the ball up nicely, for Brown to dance over for his second of the afternoon, Baggy’s con makes it 41-10
Never say die Dinnington round off the day’s scoring with a try, making the Final Score Middlesbrough 41 Dinnington 15.
This win sets us up for the title decider in 2 weeks against second placed Old Crossleyans here at Le Parc du Acklam. Please come along and show the Heroes in Maroon and Gold your incredible support.
It was lovely to see the “ladies” from Newcastle Medicals call in after their win at Stockton. Great to see you Andy Wilson et al.
To the chorus of “Tight Fit’s The Lion Sleeps Tonight”
One Win Away, One Win Away, One Win Away, One Win Away…..
Dare to Dream…
UTB
