A Game Of Two Halves

Redcar broke new ground playing their first league evening game, away under floodlights. The game was against with their closest rivals Darlington, closest in distance 24 miles and closest in League position, Redcar top and Darlington 2nd with 3 points less than Redcar. It was the night before Redcar’s annual firework display and the game turned out to be a cracker.

(This report from Damian Buck)
Darlington started the first half the stronger team, they opened up the scoring when their fullback took the ball at pace beating the blindside defence. Redcar soon hit back though with a lovely line from Mathew Curry that saw him run clear from 40m. The first half then continued to go back in Darlingtons favour as they scored 2 more tries before half time.

Half Time Darlington 19 Redcar 7

That score at half time would have seen the Redcar of old go on to concede another 20-30 points, but this season the boys have had the bit between their teeth when behind. The second half was dominated by Redcar with possession, big carries and an immense defensive effort. A quick thinking tap and go penalty saw Redcar opening the score in the second half, the second followed quickly after when Luke Watson got on to a loose ball to run in the try. The 4th was scored by a forward in some way that a forward scores, however no one seems to remember, the 5th came from a standard Ian Fox break before he was high tackled before the try line, with the referee awarding a penalty try. Darlington did finish the game strong, but a massive defensive effort from Redcar denied them scoring and them picking up any bonus points.

Final Score Darlington 19 Redcar 33