BARROW RAIDERS 12 YORK VALKYRIE 44
LORRAINE MARSDEN, Speed Competitions Stadium, Sunday

PETRA WOODS, Izzy Bibby, Adaoha Akwiwu and Brooke Henderson all scored twice as York eased to victory over Barrow, and with it confirmed a fourth-place finish to the first half of the season.

Woods opened the scoring after just three minutes when she found space out wide to go over, before Amelie Lenham took advantage of a penalty to race down field for York’s second.

Bibby then scored twice in the space of three minutes, and after Ellie Williamson had been off target for the first three conversion attempts, Izzy Brennan took over and landed the first goal of the afternoon.

Brennan’s second goal, and York’s only other successful kick of the afternoon game after Agnes Wood spotted another gap in the Barrow defence to cross.

Akwiwu’s first came just minutes later and put York 28-0 up at the break.

Henderson bagged her brace in a ten-minute spell shortly after the restart before Barrow finally got on the scoresheet through a Lucy Dickinson try converted by Nicole Stewart.

Woods and Akwiwu hit back soon after, and while Leah Clough scored Barrow’s second with five minutes left, the game already belonged to York.

RAIDERS: 1 Sam Norman, 2 Chloe Capstick, 3 Emily Stirzaker, 5 Emma Hutchinson, 19 Blossom Howell, 9 Beth Lindsay, 7 Beth Pattinson, 8 Leah Clough, 14 Leah Cottier, 10 Jodie Morley, 11 Lucy Dickinson, 12 Vanessa Temple, 13 Nicole Stewart. Subs (all used): 15 Jodie Crawford, 16 Mia Dobson, 17 Kelly Friend, 26 Darcy Southward

Tries: Dickinson (61), L Clough (75); Goals: Stewart 2/2

VALKYRIE: 26 Liv Turner, 3 Emma Kershaw, 28 Amelie Lenham, 21 Petra Woods, 2 Eboni Partington, 11 Tamzin Renouf, 7 Ellie Williamson, 18 Izzy Brennan, 14 Izzy Bibby, 15 Megan Pakulis, 25 Adaoha Akwiwu, 8 Liv Wood, 10 Jas Bell. Subs (all used): 4 Tara Moxon, 16 Agnes Wood, 19 Brooke Henderson, 29 Kate Howard

Tries: P Woods (3, 64), Lenham (13), Bibby (19, 21), A Wood (24), Akwiwu (26, 68), Henderson (44, 51); Goals: Williamson 0/4, Brennan 2/5, Bell 0/1

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 0-8, 0-12, 0-18, 0-24, 0-28; 0-32, 0-36, 6-36, 6-40, 6-44, 12-44

Half-time: 0-28; Referee: Tyler Topping-Higson