Halifax 28 - 2 Rochdale Hornets

Rochdale Hornets

Rochdale Hornets were left disappointed as they fell to defeat at the hands of Halifax at The Shay on Sunday afternoon.

A poor second half saw them fall out of reach of their opponents, as they showed fatigue in the latter stages of the game due to the sheer amount of defending they were forced to do.

Some of that defending was brought on by handling errors, and although they conceded 28 points they still defended their line well until their energy was drained.

The afternoon started well as Danny Yates put Hornets ahead after just six minutes with a penalty goal which he drilled over from 30 metres out.

That was Hornets only score though as the first try of the game went the way of Halifax as Shane Grady broke the defensive line before finding Ben Johnston in support, who raced over on 16 minutes for a try. Converted by Steve Tyrer.

Grady came up with another try assist five minutes later as he managed to offload on his way to the ground, with Tyrer walking in for a try which he couldn’t convert.

Simon Grix almost sent Ben Heaton over with a clever kick.

At the other end, Rob Massam knocked on in an attempt to pluck a Yates kick out of the air.

With six minutes of the first half remaining Grady broke the Hornets line once again, and despite having Tyrer and Rob Worrincy in support he tried to go alone before Chris Riley hauled him down.

The Hornets fullback held on too long though and referee Gareth Hewer produced the yellow card and he was forced to sit out the next 10 minutes.

Half time: Halifax 10 - 2 Rochdale Hornets

A man down, Hornets defended valiantly, including some great cover tackles from Miles Greenwood and Jack Holmes.

Halfax’s lead was extended when Ed Barber somehow offloaded under the attention of three defenders, and Will Sharp was on hand to touch down under the posts.

They were in again after Lewis Palfrey had knocked on 20 metres out from the Halifax line; Scott Murrell broke with a show and go, and Adam Tangata cruised over in support for a converted try.

The quality of the game declined with unforced errors, but Halifax capped a dominant display with a try three minutes from time as Grix crossed after backing up Tyrer’s break.

Halifax: Will Sharp, Ben Heaton, Steve Tyrer, James Woodburn-Hall, Rob Worrincy, Scott Murrell, Ben Johnstone, Mitch Cahalane, Brandon Moore, Daniel Murray, Shane Grady, Simon Grix, Jacob Fairbank.
Replacements: Elliot Morris, Ryan Boyle, Ed Barber, Adam Tangata.
Tries: Johnston (16), Tyrer (21), Sharp (51), Tangata (56), Grix (77).
Goals: Tyrer 4/5.

Rochdale Hornets: Chris Riley, Kevin Penny, Jack Holmes, Lewis Galbraith, Rob Massam, Lewis Palfrey, Danny Yates, Samir Tahraoui, Ryan Maneely, Jordan Hand, Jono Smith, Josh Crowley, Gary Middlehurst.
Replacements: Miles Greenwood, Pat Moran, Matty Hadden, Jordan Case.
Tries: None.
Goals: Yates 1/1.

Referee: Gareth Hewer

Attendance: 1,124