A last-minute drop goal by Michael Knowles gives the Rams a precious two points against bottom club Workington Town.
On a bright but breezy Sunday afternoon at the Tetley’s Stadium it was crunch time for two of the Championship’s strugglers as they faced off in a game where both sides will have had their eyes on two points. Before the game both sides paid their respects to former Dewsbury players Harry Beverley and Leon Williamson, who have sadly passed away since our most recent home game.
The opening to the game was tense, with both sides rarely threatening the opposition try line. Unfortunately for the Rams, after fifteen minutes scrumhalf Matty Beharrell was taken off with a facial injury and wouldn’t return for the rest of the game. It was Workington who came close to making the first breakthrough, a cross field kick by Jamie Doran was collected by winger Alex Young but spilled as he went to put the ball down, handing the Rams an early reprieve.
The Rams were then held up over the line a couple of times as they looked to apply pressure on the Workington line, the pressure finally paid off in the 27th minute as Reiss Butterworth squeezed over from close range to give the Rams a four-point advantage. This didn’t last long however as in the 31st minute a break from Will Tate sent Alex Clegg in under the sticks, which Doran converted to give the away side a two-point advantage at the break.
The second half started perfectly for the Rams, Ollie Greensmith made a darting run through the Workington defence and almost knocked the posts down as he managed to get the ball down under the sticks. Workington once again nearly answered straight back but Caine Barnes’ score was chalked off for a forward pass.
A late shot on Harry Kidd then gave the Rams the perfect opportunity to extend their lead to six with a penalty goal from Paul Sykes, which he duly converted. A knock on by Workington on their own ten metre line allowed Greensmith to score his second of the afternoon as he scored straight from the scrum. Sykes converted again to give the Rams a twelve-point lead with twenty minutes to go.
This seemed to spark something within the Workington team and after a spell of sustained pressure, Alex Young scored in the corner, which Doran converted off the post to bring Workington within six points with ten minutes to play. Then in the 78th minute a grubber through by Doran was collected by Barnes who scored under the posts, which Doran converted to bring the scores level.
Then came a chaotic final two minutes with both sides trying to get that vital score to get that all important victory. After a good drive up field, Workington were in position for Doran to go for the drop goal. However, a fantastic press by the Rams forced Doran passed to Oscar Thomas who again found himself under pressure and instead opted for a high kick, which was collected by Davey Dixon. After collecting the ball Dixon received a high shot giving the Rams a penalty on their own ten metre line with seconds to go. A quick break put Sykes in position to attempt the drop, but he was quickly charged down and passed to Michael Knowles who slotted the drop goal perfectly through the posts to a huge cheer from the Dewsbury faithful and give his side an incredibly important victory.
After the match Rams’ Head Coach Lee Greenwood said “I’m really pleased that we managed to get the win today, there was a lot of pressure on this game for us. At the beginning of the game, I would’ve definitely taken a one-point win as it was so important, but we made some stupid mistakes to let them back in the game.”
“I thought we played some good stuff to get to 18-6, but then we just let them back in it, I’m really proud though with the character that we showed at the end, and it was good to see the old timers linking up to get us the drop goal.”
“There was a couple of really good performances today, Ollie Greensmith took both of his tries very well and ran well all day, I think he’s improving week by week. I thought Jon Magrin had his best game of the season so far and I was impressed with both Kyle Trout and Reiss Butterworth putting in 80 minutes when they might not have expected to. Unfortunately, Matty Beharrell has had to go to hospital for an x-ray on his cheek but we’re hoping it’s not too serious.”
The Rams Man of the Match, as selected by YBS, was Ollie Greensmith said after the game “We’re delighted to get the win the win today, I feel like both myself and the lads have been training well for a while and we were feeling confident before today’s game, so it’s good to get it over the line.”
Dewsbury Rams (19): Dixon, Gabriel, Ryder, Greensmith, Carr, Sykes, Beharrell, Magrin, Butterworth, Trout, Johnson, Tomlinson, Knowles.
Interchanges: Speakman, Stevens, Beckett, Kidd.
Tries: Butterworth (27’), Greensmith (44’, 57’)
Conversions: Sykes (2/3)
Penalty Goal: Sykes (54’)
Drop Goals: Knowles (80’)
Workington Town (18): Thomas, Young, Brown, Tate, Clegg, Doran, Walker, Fitzsimmons, Simons, Weetman, Steele, Barnes, O’Brien.
Interchanges: Henson, Clarke, Thomson, Brewin.
Tries: Clegg (31’), Young (68’), Barnes (78’)
Conversions: Doran (3/3)
Attendance: 711
Our next game sees us travel to the capital on Sunday 1st May to face London Broncos.
