Crofters pay the penalty as errors pile up in defeat
BURTON fell to a 53-14 defeat away against Scunthorpe in the Midlands Premier, paying the price for simple errors and a high penalty count against them.
The Crofters trailed 15-0 at the break and, although they scored two converted tries in the second half, Scunthorpe continued to pile up the points for their first win.
Burton set up the first maul of the game and were awarded a penalty immediately as several Scunthorpe players were offside.
Will Simpson kicked to touch and Burton won the resulting line-out, making good progress into the Scunthorpe 22 before being penalised for holding on.
In the early stages there appeared to be little between the sides, with most of the play around the halfway line.
However, a good kick by the home side saw them progress deep into the Burton 22 before opening the scoring with an unconverted try.
Whenever Burton applied pressure they were frustrated by a combination of simple errors and penalties.
One penalty allowed Scunthorpe to kick from in front of the posts and make it 8-0.
From the kick-off, Lewis Sturgess drew a penalty after some great work. Simpson kicked the ball to the Scunthorpe 22 and the following line-out and maul set up James Davies to surge towards the try line, only to be thwarted by a strong home defence.
The remainder of the half was disjointed and littered with penalties, mainly in Scunthorpe’s favour.
Callum Stokes replaced the injured Matt Tivey just before halftime for Burton and Scunthorpe still had time to go over for a converted try.
After the interval, Burton made two further changes in an effort to get back into the game with the introduction of Lewis Brooks at centre and Joe Gazzard in the second row.
The substitutions seemed to have an immediate impact as Scunthorpe were penalised for tackling in the air and Simpson’s kick meant Burton had the throw on Scunthorpe’s 22.
From the line-out, the ball went
left to right across the backs and progressed deep into home territory.
It was worked to the left again and Harry Titley found Ben Smith, who proved unstoppable from close range to open Burton’s account for the afternoon.
An injury to Simpson in the buildup meant he had to leave the field and it was Chaz Bunting who converted to make the score 15-7.
But a mistake by the visitors meant Scunthorpe hit back straight away with a converted try for a 22-7 lead.
From the re-start, Burton were awarded a penalty for crossing and the kick led to a line-out on the Scunthorpe 22.
Davies made another break from the line-out maul but was forced into touch short of the line. However, the Burton pressure told and a wayward throw was latched onto by Stokes before the ball was moved swiftly along the backs for Lewis Brookes to score Burton’s second try of the match. Bunting added the easy conversion and the visitors trailed 22-14 with 30 minutes remaining.
But those were the last points Burton scored, while Scunthorpe kept the scoreboard ticking over for the 53-14 win.
Burton now prepare to face Sheffield in what will be the official opening of the Crofters’ new home on Saturday. It will be free entry at Battlestead Croft and as well as the game there will be live music, craft stalls and bouncy castles.