Dewsbury Celtic 4 – 34 Mayfield

Photo: Aidy Gleeson Snr

Man of the Match, hat trick scorer Liam Whalley

"We did what we had to do to win the game," said Sam Butterworth after Mayfield`s win at Dewsbury Celtic on Saturday.

Mayfield were in command for most of the game although their hosts showed plenty of fight and certainly didn`t look a side that has only picked up one point from the last 22.

For the first ten minutes there was nothing between the teams as both sets of forwards tried to gain the upper hand. Mayfield were lucky enough to have Gareth Ellison and Sean Mulcahy on great form as they battered the Celtic defence with drive after drive.

It was only a matter of time before good work from the pair was converted into points and after a Callum Marriott break saw the supporting Liam Whalley take the ball from him and find Rob Kershaw who found his way to line. Sam Butterworth converted,.

The game resumed its pattern until Celtic were awarded four repeat sets in the Mayfield twenty they made the most of the pressure as the winger dived over in the corner.

The referee had an impact on the game as he began to hand out penalty after penalty, Mayfield benefitted from this as Declan Sheridan took his team upfield giving Callum Marriott the opportunity to extend his sides lead.

Five minutes later Liam Whalley capitalised on the penalties being awarded as he bagged his first of the afternoon. Butterworth converted. 

The second half saw both teams get bogged down with mistake after mistake. On the occasions when they did play rugby Mayfield were by far the better team, and they proved this as Whalley got his second after some slick ball handling from Butterworth and Paul Brearley. Converted by Butterworth.

A wrong word to the referee saw a Dewsbury player in the bin and he was swiftly followed by another one for persistent offending. Mayfield should have made more of this advantage but only managed two tries while their opponents numbers were depleted - coming from Matt Calland and a well taken effort from John Foy.

Si Moore and Matty Moores worked hard all afternoon and provided the platform for Calland to break the line and find Whalley in support he finished brilliantly to complete his hatrick and the scoring.

This was not a classic performance from the league leaders but it was a good win with some excellent individual showings, Seta Tala again proved how much he has matured at full back while wingers Kershaw and Nualamatua both made useful contributions. Outstanding in the forwards were Sean Mulcahy and Gareth Ellison - this pair have worked tremendously since coming into the team, strengthening the defence and adding some more go forward to an already mobile pack.

The Man-of-the-Match award from the opposition went to hat trick scorer Liam Whalley who also was outstanding in his defensive efforts. The players Man-of-the-Match went to Gareth Ellison who had his best game so far in the blue and white of Mayfield.

Mayfield Team: Seta Tala, Rob Kershaw, Liam Whalley, Matt Calland, Komai Nualamatua, Paul Brearley, Sam Butterworth, Matty Moores, Wayne Corcoran, Gareth Ellison, Sean Mulcahy, Callum Marriott, Aidan Gleeson, Si Moore, Todd O’Brien and Declan Sheridan.