Stocksbridge Rugby go close at Halifax,

Stocksbridge Rugby picked up a losing bonus point in a hard fought contest away at Halifax, eventually going down by 34pts to 27pts.
With several regulars unavailable this week, the 1st XV squad was stretched to the limit as big Sam Whitaker suffered an ankle injury in the Captain's 'run thru' training session on Friday.
Wily veterans Nigel Dowkes & Dave Potts were called up to strengthen a depleted interchange bench. Stocksbridge began well, & a sweeping move resulted in an early penalty attempt for Scotty Bowskill, who nailed a difficult kick to give the visitors the edge.
Stocksbridge failed to claim the resulting kick-off cleanly, which they did more than once in this fixture, & the result was a try for the home side, perhaps helped by some questionable defending.
The visitors suffered a further set back when back rower Jordan Fletcher has to be replaced on just 18 minutes, & Ben Brown needed some running repairs on a blood injury.
Scott Bowskill added a second penalty on 25 minutes, as the Stocksbridge forward pack began to gain the upper hand, & with a one point ball game approaching half time, Stocksbridge were well in this entertaining encounter.
For some reason the visitors just stopped tackling & weak defence allowed Halifax space & room to score two further converted tries, much against the run of play, leaving a half time score of Halifax 21pts - Stocksbridge Rugby 6pts, & a hill to climb.
There is a belief in the Stocksbridge Rugby ranks & they produced a barnstorming 2nd half display which almost brought them parity & more.
Try machine Ben Brown broke free from a ruck & scampered 20 metres to score, & Bowskill converted to give the visiting supporters some hope. This was quashed as another poor kick-off return coughed up possession, allowing Halifax to build a platform from which they were able to score a further try.
Young Tom Hughes playing nicely at fly half suffered a blood injury, & smiling assassin Pat O'Learly was introduced, as Halifax chose to kick a crucial penalty, perhaps showing some respect to the visitors who were pressing hard.
A patched up Hughes then replaced the injured Adam Frith, & Stocksbridge were reduced to 14 men when the luckless Liam O'Leary was harshly sin binned for a professional foul. This seemed to stir the visitors who sensed all was not lost however, a miss timed pass allowed the home team a chance of an interception & a break away try to bring some day light between the team.
Still Stocksbridge Rugby weren't finished, & a rousing final 10 minutes saw both O'Leary brothers cross for converted tries, leaving the gallant visitors just one score behind, but with time against them. The home side managed to hang on to claim a victory by 34pts to 27pts & Stocksbridge Rugby had to be content with just a losing bonus point.
'it's disappointing' said Head Coach Andy Tyers afterwards 'we got back into this game, & they had gone' adding 'another few minutes & I'm sure we would have scored again. We have a few things to fix up, first up defence for one thing, but we really gave an encouraging performance despite the challenges we faced coming here' Selection will be interesting this week, as some of the performances from those drafted in warrant another opportunity, & there will be others looking to come back into the reckoning.
The Bradfield Brewery Man of the Match award went to flying winger Callum Green for an impressive all round performance, Joe & Ryan Smith both pushed him close, in a game that Stocksbridge Rugby really should have won.
The Piggy's are at home next weekend to Northallerton in round 6 of the Yorkshire League Division Three competition, kick off @ Coal Pit Lane is 3.00pm & all are welcome