Hornets sting Warriors with late try to secure place in national final

HFH U14 10 Hunslet Warriors U14 8 HORNETS made it through to the National Cup final with a nail-biting 10-8 victory over Hunslet Warriors.

Hunslet took the lead early in the first period through a great move finished in the corner, the successful touchline conversion giving them a 6-0 advantage.

The visitors maintained the pressure and soon increased the lead by kicking a penalty to make the score 8-0.

Hornets were in danger of going further behind as they were again penalised for offside and they found themselves defending their own line for large periods.

They showed huge desire and desperation to keep their cup final dream alive, with a monumental defensive effort to keep Hunslet out.

With the half drawing to a close, Hornets hit back with some great carries allowing Lewis Dodd to boot a precision kick to the corner for teammate Lewis Talbot to score for the home side.

Trailing 8-4 Hornets, knew they needed to lift their game and find a way to keep their dream alive of reaching the final.

A tremendous defensive effort throughout the second half kept Hunslet at bay.

With just six minutes left, Dodd took the ball to the line and offloaded to Flinn Thorburn who burst through to score. Dodd then coolly booted over the conversion to make it 10-8 to Hornets.

The last few minutes seemed like a lifetime but Hornets defended everything Hunslet could throw at them.

Congratulations go to the whole squad. Hornets will play Yorkshire’s undefeated champions Kippax ARLFC in next month’s final.