Saturday 29th September 2001
NATIONAL CONFERENCE LEAGUE DIV 2
SHEFFIELD HILLSBOROUGH HAWKS 20 KEIGHLEY ALBION 18

Albion travelled to Sheffield to play fellow bottom of the division team Hillsboro Hawks so it was a day when something had to give. Albion were first out of the blocks when as early as the 2^nd minute John Gwilliam popped over a drop goal to put Albion on the score board with a 0 to 1 point lead. More good Albion work from Kris Kirk and John Gwilliam saw a Craig Morphett bomb totally bamboozle the Hawks full back and Danny Horne won the chase for the loose ball to score a try, Kris Kirk added the goal to put Albion 7 points to nil in front on 6 minutes.

At this early stage of the game Albion were playing out of their skins, the Hawks on the other hand had seen very little of the ball. On 11 minutes Albion should have increased there lead when they created a 3 on 2 situation only for the last pass go to ground and missed a glorious chance to put more points on the scoreboard. Hawks Pete Rousso and Phil Hough were trying to get their team into gear but Albions defensive play was strong with Craig Morphett and Kris Kirk to the fore.

As the Hawks were putting together an attack in the 16^th minute Rob Bailey intercepted on the 20 metre line and went a good 60 metres up field before being caught and put into touch by the Hawks covering defenders. Both teams were now playing good open rugby, but Albion again scored when a good set of plays in midfield from Danny Horne and Ben Farrar saw Chris Hogg go in from acting half back to score a well taken try.  The goal kick was off target but Albion led by 11 points to nil in the 27th minute.

The Sheffield side then found their feet when from a penalty kick on their own 22 line they kicked the ball into Albions 22 area and from the tap Phil Hough split Albions defence to score a try, John Nicholls added the goal kick to close the gap to Hawks 6 points to Albions 11 on the 30 minute mark. The Hawks now had the bit between there teeth and a good cross field set of plays then saw winger Dave Evans score in the corner, John Nicholls added the touch line conversion to put the Hawks in front for the first time in the game at 12 points to 11 on 35 minutes.

But not to be outdone the Keighley side hit back with the last kick of the half when on 40 minutes John Gwilliam popped over another drop goal to tie up the scores. Albion had dominated the first half but had failed to turn pressure in to points. And the late Hawks surge had given them a share of the points. Half Time score Hawks 12 – Albion 12.

The Hawks kicked off downfield deep into Albion territory and for the 3^rd time in as many weeks were made to pay for some lacsidascal play when in the first set of six Brian Moore skipped through the visitors bewildered defence for a try the goal attempt was of the mark but the Hawks were in front again by 16 points to 12 on 42 minutes.

Albion were then made to suffer even more as the Hawks second rower Andy Thompson made a mid field break to set up Nick White who scored a good try, the goal attempt was again off target but it was now the Hawks 20 points to Albions 12 in 45 minutes.

The visitors then put pressure on the Hawks defence with Steve Wrench and Craig Morphett taking the ball in to the heart of the Hawks defence but poor handling let them down as the ball went to ground. A set of penalties also did not help the Albion cause as they were pushed back on the defensive, Chris Hogg, John Gwilliam and Steve Wrench were trying to to turn defence in to attack, and for once the Hawks were penalized for ball stealing in there own 22 area and from the quickly taken tap penalty Craig Morphett forced his way over for a try, Danny Horne added the goal to put Albion within 2 points of the Hawks with the score at 20 points to 18 on the 53 minute mark.

This set up a thrilling 17 minutes where both sides were throwing everything into attack but without any real success, and as Albion pushed forward a freak accident in the tackle on 74 minutes Hawks full back Scott Wallace received a serious knee injury and the game was stopped for 20 minutes whilst the paramedics arrived to take him to hospital. From the scrum that restarted the game Danny Horne went within a whisker of scoring but was denied a try by some good tackling from the Hawks. Neither side could add to the score line as the clock wound down to give victory to the Hawks by 20 points to Albions 18.

It had been an entertaining game between 2 evenly matched sides, but Albion were left ruing the missed chance that probably cost them the game.  John Gwilliam took Albions Man of the Match award closely followed by Chris Hogg, Steve Wrench and Craig Morphett. For the Hawks Phil Hough was there Man of the Match and Pete Rousso was not far behind.

Next Week Albion travel away to play Normanton Knights with a  2-30 Kick Off.
Terry Caddy.     

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