Late heartbreaker for U14s in cup semi
Sunderland Under-14s fell to a late winner as West Hartlepool took the spoils 1912 in a nervy Durham County Cup semi-final.
A try from winger Zak Kennedy put the Ashbrooke youngsters 5-0 up early on, but West hit back moments after fly-half Chris Rochelle was sin-binned for a high tackle, to snatch a 7-5 lead with a converted try.
The match see-sawed as both sides held firm.
Sunderland’s forwards, led by Jai Swalwell and Jack Howell, edged the tight encounters, as West conceded a string of penalties for offside at the ruck.
Just after half-time, Kennedy claimed his second try, rounding the defence to touch down, converted by Rochelle for a 12-7 advantage.
However, West fought back through quick pick and goes, which put their strong runners on the front foot. As Sunderland’s outstanding defence, marshalled by centres Vince Hessell and Josh Jobling, became stretched in the closing stages, West equalised with an unconverted try, taking the score to 12-12. As the clock ticked down, West breached Sunderland’s defence again to score the decisive try, which was converted.
Hook er Alex Ryan snatched a ball against the head to keep possession for the visitors in the dying moments.
As West conceded yet another offside at the ruck, Sunderland had a chance to launch a final counter-attack, only to fumble the pass on the final play, allowing the home side to celebrate progress to the final.