Mayfield 42 – 24 York Acorn

Todd O'Brien on his way to scoring

1 More Image(s) In Gallery

A very strong Mayfield side beat York Acorn at the Mayfield Sports Centre on Saturday in what was an entertaining game, especially for the neutrals in the crowd.

This was a tough game from the start for Mayfield with York showing they had travelled with winning on their mind. York are a good side with a big set of forwards and two excellent half backs who orchestrated their game.

For the first few sets York pummelled the Mayfield line and only strong defence from Joe Qanuici, Callum Marriott and Matty Moores kept them out. 

It didn’t take Mayfield long to come to the fore as Sam Butterworth skipped round the defence before putting Qanuici in the clear, he sped down field before finding Matt Calland with a superb ball 'out of the back door', and Calland touched down out wide.

A mistake from the re-start gave York easy possession and put the home side under pressure. Only a forceful defensive effort stopped York scoring, but they didn’t give up and took the lead after a 40-20 kick put them back in Mayfield territory.

The introduction of Biggins and Gleeson added something extra to the Mayfield team and with Marriott having a storming game Mayfield looked like they would take control, but York had other ideas. Sam Butterworth and Rob Kershaw had made yards up field but York held firm until a penalty for a high shot allowed Calland to cross for his second.

Both sides were making unforced errors in perfect conditions but Mayfield were the team playing the better rugby and they made the opposition pay for their mistakes with Calland completing his hat trick after half an hour.

York tightened things up for the next ten minutes and scored two tries plus a superb penalty from their own half before the break.

Mayfield were struggling and with the inspirational Todd O’Brien off the pitch they had lost their leader and their go forward.

A soft penalty for lying on at the tackle allowed York another chance and, after a good set, a clever kick on the fifth saw them extend their lead.

The reintroduction of O’Brien saw the Mayfield machine click into gear. Powerful centre Ryan Bradbury was a constant problem for York, proving unstoppable on more than one occasion as he rampaged through the line, he was assisted by Seta Tala who once again was having a massive impact on the game.

Two quick Mayfield tries from Paul Brearley and a fantastic full length effort from Bradbury put Mayfield all square at 24 – 24 and they never looked back from then on.

They reclaimed the lead after Gleeson popped over a penalty given for interference on Kershaw. Then upped the pace of the game, their superior fitness and skill level shone through and the visitors where left in their wake as Sam Butterworth, Todd O’Brien and then Brearley, with his second, scored tries to seal the game, 42 – 24. 

This was another enigmatic performance from this excellent Mayfield side, but who can criticise when they keep winning games like this. Butterworth, O’Brien and Brearley were once again behind everything that Mayfield did and when Lewis Sheridan was on the pitch the quality of his passing from acting half was superb. The forwards again ran their blood to water with Marriott continuing his improving form and Matty Moores, Ben Butterworth and Mark Biggins outstanding all over the pitch. The Man-of-the-Match awards went to Joe Qanuici, again showing he must be the best forward in the division, and Paul Brearley for his constant probing of the opposition, creating the space and providing good ball for his forwards.

Mayfield Team: Seta Tala, Rob Kershaw, Ryan Bradbury, Matt Calland, Jack Sampson, Paul Brearley, Sam Butterworth, Matty Moores, Todd O`Brien, Joe Qanuici, Liam Whalley Callum Marriott, Ben Butterworth, Aidan Gleeson, Lewis Sheridan, Mark Biggins, Luke Sampson.