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Crocs dig deep for a victory
Hartlepool Rovers 5 Old Crossleyans 12 A GUTSY display was enough to give Old Crossleyans a creditable North Two East win at Hartlepool's Friarage home.
And they can take great encouragement from a game in which they made it five League wins out of seven during a campaign in which they have shown good measures of skill and determination in a highly competitive league.
Chris Duffy and Simon Normanton were starters along with 13 members of the team which narrowly beat Gateshead the week before as Crocs looked to continue their good form.
Neither side showed much enterprise in the early stages, but successive penalties put Crocs on the back foot and they were relieved when Watson missed a straightforward kick at goal.
Efforts by both sides to keep the ball in hand were unrewarded when tactical kicks might have been the better option, and Crocs were further hindered when prop Paul Michael went off with an ankle injury on 20 minutes, and a further change was necessary 10 minutes later when hooker Richard Wheale was yellow carded.
But minutes before half time Crossleyans paid their first and decisive visit to the Rovers' 22 when Ryan Hammond handled smartly and James Wainwright outstripped the cover before beating the full back to the corner.
Hinchliffe's conversion was wide but moments later his high kick was fumbled by the home defence and skipper Seymour moved the ball inside to Hinchliffe who scored by the posts and added the goal.
That 12-0 advantage looked a decisive one, especially after the stalemate of the first 30 minutes continued well into the second half.
Good work by Richardson and Duffy checked Rovers' attacks, and Shane Davies looked likely to add to the lead when put clear only for the referee to pull the play back for a Crossleyan scrum.
But the home side had found a new momentum, and a succession of powerful mauls took them to the Crossleyan line where Kirton claimed a try.
With 20 minutes remaining, the game was coming to the boil and a rare running opportunity seemed certain to give Rovers a score on the right, but Davies chased back as Seymour and Hammond covered.
It was still in the balance as Terry Michael's yellow card left Crocs short handed in the dying stages, but the visitors' defence refused to yield and they held on to take the spoils.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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