Morpeth Lift Themselves Off The Bottom With A Nervy Win

MORPETH CLIMB OFF THE BOTTOM

Morpeth 19 Northern 12

This match was also going to be toughly fought as both sides needed to win to avoid the unwanted status of being bottom of the league.

It was Morpeth who started the strongest after the first kick failed to go the required ten metres. Morpeth elected to scrum, which was won by the home side, and Morpeth immediately got their attack under way. Northern’s defence responded well to the strong running by centre Greg Young, who manage to gain yards, but never break the line. Morpeth continued to dominate the first half, running good back moves and powerful forward assaults. In spite of the continued pressure, the Northern defence held firm and even managed to turn over ball at the break down, thanks to the new rucking laws that were being played.

Morpeth points were almost inevitable, as they continued to attack with pace and discipline. The pressure finally paid off as scrum half Jonny Arkle saw a gap and made a dive for the line. A try! Morpeth’s hard work finally paid off as they took the lead for one of the first times this season. A McNeil conversion took the score to 7-0.

The remainder of the first half continued in much the same fashion, with Morpeth doing most of the attacking. The home side managed to get another try through forward power as second row Russell Hughes picked up the ball from the base of a ruck and made a successful dive towards to try line to take the score to 13-0. McNeil completed the conversion to extend the lead to 15-0.

The second half was a much different story, with Morpeth letting Northern back into the game, whether through complacency or tiredness.

This does not mean that it was all Northern’s game in the second half. It was punctuated with some good running, especially by Alex Younger, who scored the try of the match by his jinxing run through the Northern midfield to touch down for a try. McNeil lost his 100% record when he missed the conversion. 19-0 to Morpeth.

As the Morpeth legs began to lag Northern sensed an opportunity to score and did so with a concentrated effort at the line, which was finally breached for Northern’s first try of the match. A conversion took the score to 19-7.

Northern were helped to score their second by the injury of full back Younger, and the winger cleverly exploited the gap at the back with a well weighted kick and chase, which ended up in his grateful arms for Northern’s second try of the game. This time the kick was missed. The score progressed to 19-12.

It all proved too little too late as the Ref blew the whistle for full time, much to the relief of the Morpeth players and coaches.

Final score:  Morpeth 19 Northern 12.