Rotherham Titans grabbed a thrilling 29-23 win over Wharfedale with a try from Sam Veall in the last play of the game.
The win, which was fully deserved and also Titans first at The Avenue, was on full time boisterously celebrated by a large travelling support from South Yorkshire.
However, it looked as if Roth had missed their chance of a famous victory when with what was thought to be the last kick of the match, a Lloyd Hayes’ penalty hit the left hand post and bounced back into play.
All Wharfedale needed to do at that point to claim the win was boot the ball off the field.
Remarkably however, Titans Harry Dunne managed to grapple the ball back into Roth hands and following numerous phases in the 7th minute of injury time Sam Veall managed to glide through to score in the far corner.
The victory was vital for Rotherham, as following a week’s break from league action they take on the top two sides in the table with Fylde at home, followed by Sedgley Park away.
The game was played out in rain, wind and bright sunshine with neither side giving an inch all afternoon as true Yorkshire grit ensured no one took a backward step.
Wharfedale got the scoreboard moving first on 7 minutes when fly half Tom Mann knocked over a 3-pointer.
Rotherham soon responded however when Sam Boxhall turned over possession and the ball arrived with Harry Dunne who quickly slipped a lovely pass back inside to Jack Hedley; he then raced up to the line before offloading to Sam Veall to score a nice team try.
The next score didn’t arrive until just before the half hour mark when following a period of forward pressure from Rotherham the ball was collected by Sam Boxhall who threw a long miss-pass out to winger Jack Taylor who dived in at the corner to score. Hayes impressively nailed the extras from out wide to make it 12-3.
Hayes and Mann then traded penalties before in the last play of the first half Wharfedale scored a try through centre Josh Prell. Tom Mann converted to leave his side trailing 15-13.
There had been a momentum shift towards the end of the first half which saw the home side come more into the game and this continued in the opening exchanges of the second.
Nine minutes in and a catch and drive close to the line saw replacement back rower Matt Speres crash over to give Wharfedale the lead for the second time in the game.
Their lead didn’t last very long however as once again Roth bounced back and this time it was skipper Zak Poole who scored near the posts after receiving a short pass from Sam Boxhall. Hayes’ conversion put Roth 22-18 ahead.
In this most enthralling of contests the tension heightened with four minutes remaining when centre Josh Prell darted over for his second, and Wharfedale’s third try of the game to nose the home side back into the lead at 23-22.
With time running out The Avenue became a Cauldron of Noise, as each side put everything on the line in search of victory.
So when Sam Veall crossed the whitewash in the final play of the match, everyone connected with the Titans exploded with excitement and relief. Hayes added the cherry on top with an impressive conversion from out wide.
Roth may look back on this one in April as a turning point in their season, but before anyone gets carried way they have to face the best two teams in the division next up, starting with table-toppers Fylde in a fortnight at Clifton Lane.
Speaking on the pitch after the game a relieved, but delighted Adam Byron said:
“When we hit the post with what we thought was going to be the last kick of the game I was frustrated and disappointed in that I thought we’d lost another game that we really should have won. It was a difficult kick into the wind and my heart went out to the boys because they had grafted so hard for the win.
“We know it wasn’t our best performance of the season, but the boys worked so hard throughout and they fully deserved to get back on the bus with a win and I’m delighted for them.
“We did some good things today; in the first half when we got into their 22 we scored, but we struggled a bit to do that in the second half, but all credit to Wharfedale, their defensive sets in the second half were very good.
“I think the most frustrating thing is how we let them make territory and it was from our penalties, our simple mistakes, our kick-offs and the only way they made headway in the first half was from our mistakes.
“So going forwards we need to make sure we get our processes right and that we maintain our focus for the full 80 minutes.
However, I am so proud of all the boys for how they never gave up and for the character and desire they showed at the end to get the win.”
Referee: Daniel Woods
Attendance: 535
Yellow Card: Nwosu-Hope (Titans), Hedgley (Wharfedale
Titans: Veall (2T), Taylor (T), Poole (T), Hayes (3C, P)
Wharfedale: Prell (2T), Speres (T), Mann (C, 2P)
Titans: 15 Sam Veall, 14 Jack Hedley, 13 Lloyd Hayes, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Jack Taylor (Jones 64), 10 Corben Ollivent, 9 Sam Boxhall, 1 Charlie Capps (Donkor 34) (Capps 61), 2 Jack Bergmanas, 3 Gareth Denman (Rylance 34) (Denman 61), 4 Theo Nwosu-Hope, 5 Lewis Allan, 6 Marcus Payne, 7 Zak Poole (Capt.), 8 Callum Bustin.
Replacements: 16 Louis Inman, 17 Danny Rylance, 18 Alastair Donkor, 19 Fraser Jones, 20 Kai Ramrattan.
Wharfedale: 15 Harry Bullough, 14 Tom Darwin, 13 Josh Prell, 12 Oli Cicognini, 11 Robbie Davidson, 10 Tom Mann, 9 Omari Kaup-Samuels (Bell 71), 1 Matt Beesley (Altham 34), 2 Ben Wright (Stockton 68), 3 Sam Dickinson (Hirst 39) (Beesley 63), 4 Simon Borril, 5 George Hedgley, 6 Ryan Carlson, 7 Joe Fawcett (Speres 34), 8 Josh Burridge.
Replacements: 16 Joe Altham, 17 Elliott Stockton, 18 Matt Speres, 19 Jack Hirst, 20 Max Bell.
