BARROW RAIDERS 22 SHEFFIELD EAGLES 28
PADDY McATEER, Northern Competitions Stadium, Sunday
SHEFFIELD got two points with a scoreline that flattered the Raiders, who were not at the races until the final stages when they ran in twelve points; but the gate had closed on them as they tried to snatch a draw.
Sheffield never really had to get into top gear, playing the basics and capitalising upon some shoddy defensive work by the home side.
It was on the cards early when the reliable Josh Wood made a hash of things at a play-the-ball close to the Eagles’ line, He knocked on and an opportunity went begging.
From that point it was all Sheffield until a late revival in the closing minutes made it a more respectable scoreline. Well led by Titus Gwaze and Masi Matongo, the Eagles took a firm grip of the game in the first half.
A Sheffield raid saw Jack Walker send Darrius Carter to the home line, only for Andrew Bulman to halt his progress.
And when Corey Johnson put in a neat kick the ball rebounded off the post into the arms of Ryan Johnston to ease the initial pressure.
When Barrow were caught offside near their own line it was unlucky 13 for the home side as the Eagles moved the ball across field to Jayden Billy, who slipped on the wet surface but got up and dotted the ball down for an unconverted try.
Four minutes later, Bulman gifted the Eagles a second try when a high ball went straight through the arms of the Barrow winger, allowing Johnson to swoop and race over with Josh Hodson adding the goal.
A rare Barrow attack saw debutant Finn McMillan go on a strong diagonal run, only to be halted short of the line.
However, there was no halting the Eagles from stretching their lead on the half-hour when Alex Foster crossed with ease for another unconverted try.
Good defence from the Eagles prevented Bulman crossing in the corner soon afterwards.
Bulman put Barrow’s first points on the board on 32 minutes, however, when he gathered Brad Walker’s kick to the corner, with Walker himself adding the goal.
A Johnson penalty goal closed the half with the Eagles enjoying a ten-point lead.
The second half was barely four minutes old when the Eagles increased their lead.
Johnson, trying to find a way through from 20 metres out, suddenly took on the home defence and glided past four defenders with ease without a finger being laid on him.
From the restart the Raiders were caught offside and from the tap penalty the Eagles swept upfield and, with all the time in the world, Walker crossed the home line, with the kick from Hodson sailing between the posts to make it 6-28.
Bulman gave a hope of a revival when he gathered Walker’s long pass to dive over in the corner for an unconverted
Barrow’s Ryan Brown and the Eagles’ Evan Hodgson were sin-binned on 58 minutes after a skirmish.
Tom Walker led several home raids with some powerful running but the Eagles’ defence held out on several occasions.
With the clock ticking down, Bulman completed his hat-trick and in the final minute Broadbent crashed over, with two conversions from Walker making it 22-28.
But time ran out on Barrow.
GAMESTAR: Titus Gwaze proved to be a handful to contain with his strong running and solid defence.
GAMEBREAKER: Twelve early second-half points made it 6-28 on 47 minutes and the Raiders couldn’t claw back 22 points.
MATCHFACTS
RAIDERS
1 Luke Cresswell
2 Andrew Bulman
3 Matty Costello
4 Luke Broadbent
30 Tee Ritson
6 Brad Walker
7 Ryan Johnston
8 Tom Walker
9 Josh Wood
10 Ramon Silva
21 Finn McMillan
24 Jarrad Stack
16 Charlie Emslie
Subs (all used)
32 Ryan Brown
15 Tom Wilkinson
22 Alex Bishop
12 James Greenwood
Tries: Bulman (32, 53, 77), Broadbent (79)
Goals: B Walker 3/4
Sin bin: Brown (58) – fighting
EAGLES
26 Jack Walker
25 Jayden Billy
3 Kris Welham
33 Josh Hodson
32 Darius Carter
9 Corey Johnson
31 Jenson Windley
8 Eddie Battye
14 Reiss Butterworth
30 Martyn Reilly
36 Jack Billington
23 Alex Foster
13 Titus Gwaze
Subs (all used)
11 Connor Bower
15 Evan Hodgson
22 Masi Matongo
24 Oliver Roberts
Tries: Billy (13), Johnson (17, 44), Foster (30), Walker (47)
Goals: Johnson 0/1, Hodson 4/5
Sin bin: Hodgson (58) – fighting
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 0-10, 0-14, 6-14, 6-16; 6-22, 6-28, 10-28, 16-28, 22-28
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Raiders: Tom Walker; Eagles: Titus Gwaze
Penalty count: 4-8
Half-time: 6-16
Referee: Kevin Moore
Attendance: 1,884