Brods led handy lead slip

An early onslaught, which yielded 19 unanswered points, wasn't enough to set up Old Brodleians for an unexpected victory at Middlesbrough on Saturday.

The Hipperholme men were beaten 29-19 by a side in excellent form in the second half of the season and still clinging to outside hopes of promotion.

Phil Town set the ball rolling for Brods, collecting a loose clearance kick and showing impressive strength and speed to beat five defenders on his way to the line.

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This was followed up by impressive phased attack that pulled the Middlesbrough defence out of position, resulting in Pete Williams crashing over in the corner.

Zak Thompson then did the same, taking advantage of Dan Cole’s impressive game management, and two successful conversions left the visitors with a healthy lead at the end of the first quarter.

Middlesbrough reacted well, applying significant pressure. It resulted in yellow cards for Matt Carbutt and Joe Sealey and the home side scored under the posts in the last seconds of the half.

Nathan Scott, who was having a tremendous game in both attack and defence, had to be replaced due to injury.

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This change, followed by a significant momentum swing, meant Middlesbrough were able to force their way back into the game and two further scores brought the sides level.

Rob Jennings almost gave Brods the lead back. He made a superb break and kicked ahead but was unable to regather the ball.

‘Borough then took the lead when a loose off-load from Ollie Akroyd was seized upon for a try under the posts.

Middlesbrough had a player red carded for a punch but Brods were unable to unlock the defence to get back in the game.

The match ended with a penalty from the Middlesbrough fly half which denied the visitors a losing bonus point.

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