Dewsbury Moor grind out victory over Elland to maintain promotion push

Moor started strongly and had early opportunities that were squandered with errors close to the line or poor execution of the final pass.

Two tries were ruled out for forward passes and when Luke Adamson broke the line and raced 65 metres only to fail to see the support, Moor had missed three scoring chances in the opening 10 minutes..

Moor eventually broke the deadlock when young half back Aiden Ineson jinked over and Jacob Flathers converted.

With Elland rooted to the bottom of the table and fielding just 14 fit players, complacency firmly set in among the Moor players

The Maroons looked flat and the atmosphere on the field was eerily quiet, so it was no surprise when Elland hit back with an unconverted try after 15 minutes.

New signing Sam Thornton sprang Moor into life when a kick return saw him race 60 metres to score at the corner. Flathers failed to convert but Moor led 10-4.

Elland responded with two tries and a conversion to lead 14-10 at half-time in what had been Moor’s worst 40 minutes of the season.

Moor’s inspiration came from the old guard as Bartley O’Brien’s short pass allowed James Eatherley to burst the line to score after 48 minutes.

The kicking duties were handed to Aiden Ineson and he successfully converted to put Moor back in front.

A high kick from Bradley Foster was claimed by Max Vernon near the corner flag and he brilliantly managed to drop the ball back inside as he was being bundled into touch by three Elland defenders.

The ball was scooped up by Scott Sheard, who placed it down for another try, successfully converted by Ineson.

With 10 minutes to go a lapse in concentration in Moor’s left edge defence allowed Elland to breach the line and score an unconverted try that reduced the arrears to 22-18.

It was the Maroons who had the final say when the dependable Jordan Foster supported a break by Eatherley and went over between the posts in the 78th minute. Ineson converted to seal victory.

Man of the Match went to Ineson with Cameron Bruce collecting the players’ player award after making a huge impact off the bench.

Moor are hoping to welcome several key players back this Saturday when they entertain third placed Stanningley, who are just two points above the Maroons, in what is another key fixture in the race for promotion.