Moortown 30 Bradford Salem 26

BRADFORD Salem suffered an agonising defeat when a lack of composure in the dying seconds from acting scrum-half Martins Bokiss allowed Moortown to snatch a last-gasp victory in Yorkshire One.

Salem arrived in confident mood following their convincing win against Old Brodleians last week and they made an excellent start.

A break by centre Ryan Smith got Salem deep into their opponent’s 22, and recycled ball and swift handling allowed Latvian flanker Gundars Griekis to cross for a try. That was converted by Danny Belcher to make it 7-0.

Moortown flanker Sheridan Farley soon got the hosts back to 7-3 though after Salem prop Will Collins was penalised for kicking the ball out of a ruck.

Fifteen minutes in, Moortown’s Bernie Muaiava Taulealo, who otherwise had an outstanding game, spilled possession in midfield and Smith scooped up before racing clear for an unconverted try.

The Bradford side then suffered a major blow when influential scrum-half Jamie Simpson left the field with an ankle injury, with Latvian Bokiss moving from the wing to replace him.

Salem’s problems were compounded as they lost three successive lineouts on their own throw and only a great tackle by replacement winger Liam Barker prevented Moortown from scoring.

However, the pressure told when Muaiava Taulealo powered his way over for a try. Farley converted to get the hosts back to 12-10 at the break.

Aided by a series of penalties in their favour, Moortown started to get on top and they took the lead for the first time when Muaiava Taulealo scored from a pushover, Farley adding the extras to put them 17-12 in front.

Things got worse for Salem as they conceded a further string of penalties, which allowed Farley to kick Moortown into a 23-12 lead with under 20 minutes to go.

However, Salem were themselves awarded two successive penalties which enabled them to get on the front foot, and, after a comedy of handling errors by both sides, Bradford second rower Chris Anderson opened the hosts up.

He burst down the right before sending supporting flanker Nick Fontaine over for a try. Belcher's conversion gave the visitors renewed hope at only 23-19 behind.

With around five minutes remaining, a superb break by full-back Max Trueman created a two on one, with Fontaine again on hand to score under the posts. Belcher added the two to put Salem 26-23 in front.

Despite a suspicion of a knock on, Moortown gained the possession they needed from the restart in order to launch a final assault in their opponent’s 22.

However, Salem seemed to have victory virtually assured when they forced a turnover and with the seconds ticking away, they just needed to get the ball off the pitch.

Unfortunately, Bokiss made a complete hash of his attempted clearance kick and, after being gifted possession, Moortown took full advantage as they scored in the final play to steal a 30-26 win.