Scarborough RUFC Vikings lose Championships semi-final at Malton & Norton
Scarborough RUFC Vikings’ season came to an end on Saturday after they were beaten by Malton & Norton, 25-12, in the semi-final of the Merit Table East Championships.
Arriving at The Gannock as clear underdogs, Jason Lowde’s team made an encouraging start and kept the home side at bay.
But after a scoreless opening 20, the home side took the lead after working the ball wide and using the overlap to their advantage.
Fly-half Adam Finlinson made light work of the conversion.
It wasn’t long before Scarborough hit back courtesy of a try from Seth Bodill, the Second Row bundled through the tackles before reaching for the line to score.
Malton & Norton extended their advantage to 10-5 in the 30th minute before the Vikings took the lead, for the first time, three minutes later.
After the ball was ripped in the tackle, Centre TJ Hodgson collected the loose ball and raced clear to score close to the posts. Archie Pickup added the extras to give his side a narrow 12-10 lead heading towards the break.
The second half started in the worst possible fashion for the Vikings as Malton & Norton immediately re-established their advantage following a penalty in front of the posts.
Just two minutes later and the home side were extending their lead after Matt Jefferson raced clear out wide to leave his side with a narrow 18-12 advantage.
Despite Lowde’s side pushing hard to get back into the game, they struggled to carve out any meaningful opportunities.
In the 71st minute, the home side made sure of the result after Finlinson spotted a gap in the defence and raced through to score. He then converted his try to make it 25-12 as the game headed towards the full-time whistle.