FRYSTON WARRIORS 20
THREE TUNS 14
Fryston Warriors of the Pennine League made it back to back Bartletts BARLA Yorkshire Cup wins after victory over Three Tuns of the Hull & District League with a 20-14 victory after leading 14-6 at the break.
But underdogs Three Tuns made them battle all the way following two tries in the last ten minutes and going for a converted try to send the game into extra time.
The Warriors showed their experience to hold on and were well served by prop Lee Land who gave a man of the match performance both in attack and superb defence and tackling with a bonus try his sides third which gave them a 14-0 lead.
The Warriors took the game to Tuns in the early stages and winger Andy Matthews would have been over if he could have taken an Adam Rothwell outside pass on ten minutes.
But they did go ahead four minutes later after they had been held on the line by Tuns. On the next play the ball Dale Cogan took the ball and jinked over from close range through three defenders in the corner.
Andy Speake who went on to kick two goals from four attempts hit the offside of the post from the touchline.
The Warriors forwards were making some significant bursts and Tuns were feeding on scraps and great defence, the side doubled their lead on 19 minutes following a penalty when this time Matthews redeemed himself taking the pass and scoring in the opposite corner.
Tuns came back into the game with some great play from their halfbacks Steve Batty and Ben Rowan looking for holes in the Warriors defence.
The Warriors though increased their following another penalty on 27 minutes when from the play the ball Land tore through the Tuns defence to score a six pointer giving his side a comfortable lead.
Things didn’t look good for the Hull side but they hit back with a superb individual try from standoff Rowan. Just in the Warriors half with nothing on from the play the ball he ran a few metres before chipping over the defence collecting the ball and beating the fullback and scoot over the line, then added the extras to cut the lead back to eight points.
Warriors thought they had scored their fourth try of the game in the last minute of the half but Wayne McHugh’s long cut out ball to Matthews was deemed forward.
Both sides went for it in the second half with Warriors pack just in control and on 58 minutes with a scrum ready to form in the warriors half Warriors and Tuns prop Jack Smith and Ash Shaw had words and swapped punches for a ten minutes rest in the sin bin.
Three minutes later Warriors scored the try of the game following a scrum deep in their own half. They threw the down the line and McHugh joined the line crashing onto the ball. He made an arching run to go through the cover, before straightening up and score untouched for a magnificent 70 metre try and Speake kicked his final goal for a 20-6 lead.
The Tuns still believed in themselves and had two great chances but Liam Crooks lost the ball going over the line and Phil Hargreaves had the ball punched out of his grip with the line beckoning as they went into the final ten minutes of the game.
With six minutes remaining there was another fracas after Warriors Jack Lee dangerous tackle on a Tuns player and he was subsequently sin binned leaving them down to 12 men for the remainder of the game.
Tuns responded with two tries in three minutes leaving the game on a knife edge. On 75minutes following the penalty and they ran the ball and winger Gaz Bennett scored in the corner. More Tuns pressure saw Lee Miller drive over from 15metes but Rowan's struck the post leaving them a converted try behind.
They continued to press until the final whistle but Fryston’s experience in finals saw them hold for victory which then saw all players and some rival supporters embrace each other after a classic final in front of three hundred supporters.
FRYSTON WARRIORS: Ben Strong, Ryan Meah, Adam Withington, Adam Rothwell, Andy Matthews, Dale Cogan, Andy Speake, Jack Smith, Jack Lee (Capt), Lee Land, Steve Scott, Craig Jones, Wayne McHugh. Subs: Adam Baxter, Sean Gee, Jack Pickerill, Jamie Chappell
Tries: Cogan, Matthews, Land, McHugh
Goals: Speake 2/4
THREE TUNS: Carl Pettman, James Sizer, Ben Coupland, Jamie Hawley, Gaz Bennet, Ben Rowan, Steve Batty, Ash Shaw, Nathan Powley, Tony Eccles, Dean Thompson, Dale Ellerby, Paul Shaw (Capt). Subs: Nathan Parkinson, Liam Crooks, Lee Miller, Phil Hargreaves
Tries: Rowan, Bennet, Miller
Goals: Rowan 1/3
Half time: 14-6
Referee: Neil Pascall
Touch Judges: Alex Cameron, Neil Horton,
Fourth Official Steve Reace
Man of the Match Lee Land (Fryston Warriors)
Attendance: 300
Steve Manning
BARLA Media Manager
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