Heath defeat Phoenix to draw level with leaders
Heath moved up to second spot in Regional 1 North East thanks to Saturday’s 29-12 win at strugglers Doncaster Phoenix.
The visitors got off to the perfect start when Olly Cook barged his way over for the opening try, converted by Ezra Hinchliffe, with only two minutes played.
From a scrum, Tom Clough picked up the ball and drove to the try-line but was held short before Harvey Keighley-Payne picked it up and crossed for an unconverted try to make it 12-0 just eight minutes later.
Phoenix battled to get back into the game and were rewarded with a converted try two minutes later.
But Heath reacted with another onslaught into the home defence and, when Phoenix had an attempted clearance kick charged down, Joe Morrison was on hand to collect the ball before releasing the supporting Elliott Spiers who crossed for a try. Hinchliffe added the extras and Heath led 19-7 with only 15 minutes on the clock.
The frantic start continued and from the restart, Hinchliffe scythed through the home defence before releasing a long pass to Joe Morrison and the winger skated over for the bonus point try.
The teams finally drew breath and the next impact on the scoreboard came 15 minutes into the second half when a clever cross-field kick found the home winger and he sprinted over for a try in the corner to make it 24-12.
Chris Johnson came on for Jake Haynes and he had an immediate effect on the game with a couple of long clearances before a clever pass to Morrison saw the flying winger cross for an unconverted try that put Heath 29-12 up on the hour mark.
At this point of the game there was an almighty deluge of rain but Heath continued to battle for the ball and were running the game down.
Josh Crickmay returned for Olly Cook with Heath looking to sew up the game with a final score. A great run from Saif Boussaada set up an opportunity for Heath to add to their score but some grim defensive work from Phoenix kept Heath out.
With other results seeing York, Harrogate and Driffield all defeated, Heath are now level on points with leaders York. Heath are not in action this weekend but return to league duties with a home game against Driffield on March 16.