The Blue and Golds were in this contest for 50 minutes but sadly faded in the final 30 minutes of the game which was once again played in very hot conditions.
Now sitting 7 points adrift of Wigan St Judes in the table, only the unlikely event of them winning all of their last 4 games and St Jude’s losing their remaining 2 can save them from the drop to division 3 now.
Club officials now have one eye on a rebuilding phase.
The home side defended well in the first half and looked reasonably creative in attack but did concede a number of set restarts. Having to defend so many repeat sets did prove very energy-sapping and it took its toll in the second half. Briefly summing up, Joe Morley commented;
”They simply adapted to the hot conditions better than we did”.
Beverley could not have started any better. The ball was shipped quickly to the right to send Will Turnbull over wide out. Joe Dobson converted for a 6-0 lead after only 2 minutes.
The visitors regained possession from the restart which was the cue for a spell of pressure on them. The hosts manage to hold out until the 22nd minute when Kieran Moore crossed converted by Craig Lawton.
With the score now level at 6-6, the visitors continued to press and then took the lead. They managed to keep the ball alive for a very long time on the last tackle. The play ending with a kick finding Keiran Moore in space who touched down for his second. Theo Holt this time adding the extras to make it 12-6.
Towards the end of the half, Beverley did manage to get some quality sets on the Woolston line and went very close on numerous occasions. One barnstorming run from Jake Hart-Fisher did see him held up over the line and there were a couple of other occasions when Beverley got over the line but couldn’t ground the ball. The visitors led 12-6 at the break.
The early minutes of the second half did see Woolston pressing on the Beverley line. However, the ball went loose and Jonny Norman kicked ahead and Beverley managed to regain possession now in the Woolston half. As Beverley piled on the pressure it paid dividends. Josh Pooley did well to cross in heavy traffic under the posts. Dobson converted to level the scores at 12-12.
The visitors soon regained the lead in the 50th minute courtesy of a Dan Fearnley try improved by Holt. Unfortunately, the home then side wilted in the heat thereafter. Woolston began to make inroads up the middle rather out wide. Harry Files, Dec Leonard, Luke Turner and Sam Wood all added scores all of which were improved by Holt.
It must be said that Beverley seemed to be on the wrong end of a few harsh penalties and set restarts which perhaps helped to exaggerate the score. Bobby Howdle took the home side’s man of the match award as decided by the opposition.
Final Score : Beverley 12 Woolston Rovers 42
