National Conference League: Siddal cut lose late on

Siddal produced some stunning rugby in the last 17 minutes of their home match against Leigh Miners Rangers yesterday to run out 34-6 winners.
Ben Hinsley was among the Siddal scorersBen Hinsley was among the Siddal scorers
Ben Hinsley was among the Siddal scorers

They trailed 6-4 before blitzing their Red Rose rivals with a five-try blast in the Premier Division of the National Conference League.

Backs Joe Martin, Christian Ackroyd and Freddy Walker showed intent with the ball in hand in the early stages.

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Siddal took the lead after 10 minutes. Canaan Smithies, stole a loose Leigh ball to gain possession in the opposition half. Danny Williams was tackled over the line but from the resulting play the ball was moved wide at speed for Lewis Hosty to score an unconverted try out wide.

The visitors were playing well themselves with skipper Darryl Kay, Craig Ashall and Andy Philbin asking questions of the Siddal defence.

Leigh’s full back Jamie King was a threat from loose play as he gathered kicks and made good yardage out of defence.

Siddal were relying on backs Henry Turner, Sam Walsh and Dom Booth to run the ball back as Leigh penned the home side in their own half.

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Leigh were kept at bay through determined defence led by Canaan Smithies, Jack Georgiou, Danny Rushworth and Danny Williams. The first half finished 4-0 as defences stayed on top.

Miners came out for the restart in determined fashion and took the lead after 46 minutes.

Lively loose forward Louie Brogan broke out of defence and his 50-yard charge towards the line was backed up by Greg Walker, who touched down out wide. Tom Worthington added a great conversion to give Leigh a 6-4 lead.

Leigh were playing mistake-free rugby as they took the game to Siddal and they almost extended the lead when King appeared to have scored only for a touch judge to intervene after 55 minutes.

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Siddal made the most of the escape as they played some delightful rugby in the closing stages.

Martin set the ball rolling and added the conversion as Siddal regained the lead at 10-6. That was the signal for the floodgates to open as confidence started to flow.

Siddal gained ground from deep inside their own half with charging runs from Byron Smith, George Ambler, Smithies and Ben Hinsley. That created the space for Martin to send Hinsley through a gap to touch down.

Two minutes later, Smith and Sean McCormack made yards and Freddy Walker went in under the posts.

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Miners were now struggling in defence and after 75 minutes Conner MacCallum bulldozed his way over the line from a scrum as Siddal took control.

The final play of the game saw another McCormack break supported by Christian Ackroyd, who sped over from 30 yards to complete the scoring.

It was Siddal’s third win in six league outings this season and they are seventh in the table.

Next Saturday’s hosts are Rochdale Mayfield, who are 10th with three points from five games after a 28-22 defeat at Lock Lane.

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