Dewsbury Rams defeated by “great side” Barrow Raiders
Dewsbury Rams were defeated 8-20 at home to Barrow Raiders this afternoon (Sunday).
The Rams were only two points behind at half-time thanks to Jacob Parkinson’s converted try in response to two tries from Luke Cresswell and Curtis Teare for the visitors.
But Barrow scored 12 points in the second half - to Dewsbury’s two - to claim the win.
The early stages saw the Rams attacking at the visitors’ line for three consecutive sets, until Barrow got the ball back via a handling error from Liam Copland.
However, it was Barrow who opened the scoring with a sublime pass from Ellis Robson to assist Luke Cresswell to a simple try.
With Barrow attacking at the Rams line, Brad Walker put through a grubber kick to the in-goal area, although Craig McShane - one of four Dewsbury players who went to Las Vegas for a prestigious 9s competition - was on hand to dink the ball out for a goal-line drop out.
The visitors then extended their lead after a succession of quick passing play between Cresswell and Shane Toal who combined to send in Teare.
Barrow thought they had grabbed their third try of the game when Ryan King went over the line, however Bailey O’Connor was on hand to hold him up.
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Barrow’s indiscipline though saw them concede numerous penalties on their own line before the pressure finally told as Dewsbury reduced the deficit through Parkinson’s strength.
A scrappy first 10 minutes of the second period saw both sides give away numerous penalties with Bailey O’Connor levelling the afternoon’s proceedings after a Barrow offside.
The Raiders, however, soon restored their two-point advantage after the Rams were caught offside themselves, with Ryan Johnston making no mistakes with the penalty.
Tee Ritson extended the visitors’ lead after he claimed a Shane Toal high kick before Toal extended Barrow’s lead further to ensure that there was no way back for Dewsbury, after some quick passing play.
Rams’ head coach Paul March said after the defeat: “We’ve come up against a strong and physical Barrow. I thought we matched them in most areas, but some penalties and errors let them off at times.
“It’s disappointing that we’ve lost, but we’ve come against a great side.”