Dale dig in as Scunthorpeslump to defeat

WHARFEDALE fought hard on a heavy pitch to secure their third win of the season, against Scunthorpe.

A one-dimensional Scunthorpe side never threatened the Wharfedale line and it was Steve John- son’s kicking that earned them a losing bonus point.

Tom Barrett controlled the game for Wharfedale and his searching kicking from hand and running with the ball caused the visitors problems all afternoon.

He also kept the scoreboard ticking over with a combination of penalty kicks and drop goals.

Scunthorpe rarely had possession in Dale’s 22 and were content to pick and go and then kick down field.

The Scunthorpe pack was strong in the first half and the scrum penalty count led to Toms Asejevs being shown a yellow card

for Wharfedale.

The second half, however, was a different story and Dale proved to be almost the fitter and stronger eight.

Three penalties from the 40-metre mark by Johnson were answered by a Dan Stockdale try, which Barrett converted, after his two drop goals gave Dale the edge at half-time.

Dale then stretched their lead to seven points with a Barrett penalty in the second half, before another Johnson penalty from 40 yards closed the gap.

A final drop goal from Barrett finished the scoring.