The blue and golds were so unlucky to not rescue a point in the final seconds of this thrilling encounter at Wheatley Hills.
As the ball was shifted to the left going through Falcus’s and Morfitt’s hands, Jake Hart-Fisher dived over in the corner. This left Lewis Poskitt to attempt a touchline conversion to snatch a draw. The kick struck the post, and the whistle blew for time.
Coach Pat Howdle said;
”I could not have asked for any more effort from you tonight against a very physical side that just refused to lie down.”
Beverley started the match positively as they took the lead in the 5th minute. Jack Humphries initial break from deep inside his own half fed Jack Howdle, who calmly drew the full back to send the supporting Sam Coleman in behind the posts. Poskitt converted.
Then followed a spell when the home side dominated possession and territory aided by the visitors coughing up the ball early in the tackle count. Bentley added three tries in this spell as their tricky runners caused problems cheered on by a vociferous home support.
Beverley did counter with a couple of attacking raids. Chris Johnson’s break down the right found the supporting Dominic Harrison whose return pass went to ground. Also another stunning handling movement to the left saw Jake Hart-Fisher dragged into touch by the chasing cover.
The fightback did begin after a very good chase from one of Poskitt’s kicks down the field. With the home side hemmed in close to their own line thanks to some strong defence. The ball game loose and rolled over the oppositions in-goal area and Poskitt pounced to score. The conversion was missed on the half hour mark.
More strong defence from the visitors forced the handling error 20 meters out from the hosts line. Direct from the scrum Jack Howdle ran towards the corner and got a pass away to send debut man Dominic Harrison over wide out. The conversion failed, but the deficit was reduced to 16-14 at the break.
The early moments of the second half saw the visitors enjoy their best spell. Man of the match Jack Humphries dummied and jinked his way over for a try.
Then minutes later just after the re-start kick Jack Howdle broke free from deep inside his own half. The supporting Jack Humphries then took the ball and sprinted the remaining 60 meters to score. With extras added on, Beverley led 26-16 and at that stage, they maybe only needed one further score.
However, they began to put pressure on themselves as they started to lose possession early on in the tackle count and deep in their own half. This contributed to almost all the final 20 minutes of the game being played inside the Beverley half of the field.
There was at times some heroic and brave defending put the home side could not be kept out for ever. They added two tries which on both occasions were the result of several repeat sets. Leading 28-26 they added what looked to be the killer try 2 minutes from time. The conversion was missed, and they led 32-26.
Beverley regained possession from the re-start kick, and Hart-Fisher scored as Beverley launched one final desperate attack.
The conversion was missed and when perhaps a draw would have been a fair reflection of the game.
The blue and gold have another tough game this Saturday when they visit Mirfield.
The West Yorkshire outfit that were one of the fancied sides this year will be out to avenge their 32-10 defeat at the Beverley Leisure Centre earlier in the campaign. Kick-Off is 2pm.
Final Score: Bentley Good Companions 32 Beverley ARLC 30 | Reported by Nick Robinson
