Hoodoo is broken as Otley tame the Tigers

Otley ...................... 28pts Sedgley Park .... 26pts

OTLEY finally beat Sedgley Park after a string of eight consecutive defeats against their Lancashire rivals, in a pulsating match that went down to the wire.

Tries from Paul Petchey, Ben Magee and two from Joe Rowntree was just enough to see off the Sedgley challenge in a thrilling encounter.

The visitors ran in three scores through William Lees, Matthew Riley and Ben Black.

Charlie Maunder, Otley’s director of rugby, was delighted with the result in what he believes was an impressive display, hailing the effort on the training ground done by his troops.

He said: “This win is a testament to the work that the guys have been doing on the training pitch.

“Both sides had a lot of ball possession and we defended very well.

“We played with a lot of control and composure and players stepped up at crucial times. It was a cracking game for the neutrals.

“We’re now looking forward to the Wharfedale game next week and go into that with momentum.”

The Tigers started brighter and were soon pressurising Otley’s line, but were eventually penalised for holding on, and the hosts were able to clear their lines.

And after two scrums, Otley moved the ball right for Paul Petchey to run some 30 metres to score in the corner.

The visitors’ response was immediate, and Stephen Collins converted a penalty after a high tackle in front of the posts. They then took the lead with two further Collins penalties on 18 and 24 minutes, the second after Brett Mitchell deliberately knocked on and was yellow carded.

In the second half, the scoreline seesawed between the two sides, Declan Dunn passing from the ground to Stephen Nolson who put in Ben Magee to score. This was cancelled out after Collins passed to William Lees who went over.

After the first scrum penalty of the match, Otley put the ball in the corner and rolled the maul around the Tigers’ defence for Joe Rowntree to score.

Otley extended the lead when they seized a loose ball in their half, and hacked it forward. Further pressure culminated in a penalty, Rowntree slotting it through the posts.

Sedgley then retook the lead, getting a penalty which they put into the right hand corner and then moved the ball across the pitch.

Clever passing saw Matthew Riley score on 63 minutes, which Collins converted.

Otley retook the lead when Rowntree went over for the second time in the corner, which he subsequently converted.

The visitors retook the lead after a cross-field kick gave prop Ben Black the space to score. However, with seven minutes remaining, Sedgley were unable to gather the restart cleanly, and were caught offside. Rowntree then stepped up to regain the lead for the Yorkshiremen and seal the win.

Steve Hazzelby, Sedgley’s director of rugby, said: “It was a tough game between two good sides.”