Hosts Scarborough RUFC slip to 17-5 loss against derby rivals Malton & Norton

Scarborough were dealt with an early blow in midweek, losing their influential skipper Drew Govier to injury, with club stalwart Joe Marshall taking the reins as captain for the first time, writes Charlie Hopper.

The visiting side came out the blocks firing at The Gannock and took control of the game inside the first ten minutes.

Winger James Long weaved his way through the defence before finding Tom Harrison out wide, and the full-back crashed over in the corner.

Joel Little missed the conversion for 5-0.

The visitors then hit straight back in the 18th minute with a converted try of their own.

Full-back Ali Fothergill broke clear out wide before a handful of offloads found a Malton man and he scored under the posts to make it 7-5.

At the end of a blustery first half, where both sides had failed to show any real quality, Malton & Norton extended their lead.

Aaron Wilson was shown the game’s first yellow card and the resulting penalty was kicked for 10-5 at half-time.

The second half started in similar fashion, this time Tom Harrison receiving a yellow card for a late tackle, leaving Scarborough with 13 for the next phase of the match.

The Malton dominance continued, and they extended their lead courtesy of a fortuitous try from replacement James Bulmer.

Tom Ratcliffe’s high kick bounced between Scarborough players and into the arms of Bulmer who raced clear and scored under the posts.

The conversion was successful for 17-5.

Searching for a way back into the game, the Silver Royd outfit came close on numerous occasions, but struggled to make inroads into the determined Malton defence.

Scarborough are back on the road on Saturday afternoon for their final away trip of 2022, with a tough visit to league leaders Moortown, who lost to Pontefract last weekend.