SUNDERLAND SECURE FIFTH CONSECUTIVE WIN
ASHBROOKE OUTFIT DOMINATE DARLINGTON TO SEAL YET ANOTHER VICTORY
Sunderland produced a solid display to take the spoils at Ashbrooke with a bonuspoint 36-24 victory over Darlington.
The Wearsiders maintained their Durham and Northumberland Two momentum with a five try, fivepoint victory to land their fifth consecutive win of the season on Saturday.
Sunderland retained fourth position in the league and face an away trip to table toppers Whitley Bay Rockliffe next Saturday, keen to bridge the five-point gap that currently separates the two clubs.
Will Sopp provided front row cover, and was joined by fellow forward replacement Craig Elstob and youngster Fletcher Jackson as back replacement.
Pete Harrison retained the captain’s armband and in his pre-match talk urged his players to build phases, deny Darlington any ball and stay patient in their build up play.
Rather than kick to touch and take a lineout from a penalty, Leon Ryan stepped up to slot the ball between the sticks to ease Sunderland into a three point lead.
Darlington’s pack provided stiff opposition in the scrum, and from one unstable scrum, Jack Hope picked up the ball and released Grant Edmundson to drive the ball over gain line.
Marc Edmundson drew defenders before passing to Harry Price, who rounded the full-back to score wide of the posts, converted by Ryan.
The good work came undone minutes later as Darlington exploited a gap in Sunderland’s defence to score.
A front row reshuffle saw Ryan Buckley take a breather as Will Sopp was introduced.
Darlington added a further try, bringing scores level.
Despite notable drive and leadership from Harrison and Luke Victory providing a good platform to build from, further points were scored.
Half time changes saw the reintroduction of Buckley for Sopp and Craig Elstob join back row for Brad Wall.
With ears ringing from their half time chat Sunderland’s approach and build up play was noticeably improved.
Grant Edmundson and Kie Hanlon’s contributions were more prominent, with Marc Edmundson and his younger brother, Dean, started to stretch Darlington’s defence, allowing gaps to open up for Sunderland to pour through.
Cam Meike opened his senior scoring account finishing a well worked team try that saw Sunderland break the gain line. Slick handling skills exploited space out wide with Leon Ryan turning provider having joined the attacking line and rather than back himself to score, released Meike to sprint into the corner.
Sunderland gathered the ball with Dean Edmundson putting his body on the line to force a scrum.
Jack Hope combined well with Ben Hutchinson, who calmly released Price, who sprinted in to get his second of the game.
Hutchinson’s box kicking was far more effective clearing Sunderland’s lines on many occasions at the risk of running out of balls as his kicks cleared the ground.
Hanlon added a try within three minutes of Price’s second. Andy Wordsworth ran a great line drawing Darlington’s defence, allowing Hanlon to burst into space and was picked out by Marc Edmundson to score under posts. Converted by Ryan, who claimed eleven point from the boot in total.
A lapse in concentration from Sunderland failed to defend a quick Darlington penalty kick down the channel that was well picked up by their chasing player to crash over bringing scores to 29-17.
As the clock counted down, Ryan was withdrawn with calf injury.
Fletcher Jackson joined the back three and Brad Wall was re-introduced to back row for dazed Craig Elstob.
Darlington pressed for a losing bonus point, only to throw the ball to Pete Harrison.
Not quite believing his luck, Harrison sprinted through, looking over his shoulder before grounding the ball. Converted by Hutchinson.
Darlington pushed hard and scored their fourth try to earn losing bonus point in a game that ended 36-24.
In a double header following the men’s match, Sunderland Flames Women’s team lost 37-12 to Darlington Ladies, with tries from Ellie Pigford and Tara Breslin, who converted her own try.