Defence is key for Otley boss Dench

By MIKE INGLEY

Otley………………..28pts

Preston G……….. 15pts

Otley's superb second-half performance saw off a determined Preston Grasshoppers side that never gave in.

Otley head coach Kyle Dench said: “Our effort has been absolutely outstanding this season and we defended so well on multiple occasions in this game.

“Offensively, we took the game to Preston and they found it difficult to cope.”

Otley took an early lead after a scrum 20 metres out. After a few phases, Blake Morgan ran on to Rory Gaffney's grubber kick to score in the corner.

After a period of Hoppers pressure, Otley then extended the lead ten minutes later when Hoppers failed to release in front of the posts and Eddie Crossland stepped up.

An intercept pass just inside Otley's half saw Josh Rourke racing to the home side's line to score after 20 minutes.

The hosts squandered a scoring chance when they lost a lineout close to Preston's line, only to see Ben Pearson's penalty give the visitors the lead after 35 minutes. It looked as though they would retain the advantage until Charles Morgan's run from deep within his own half set up Ben Waddington to score on the left in what turned out to be the final move of the half.

After 53 minutes, Otley extended their lead, moving the ball from right to left, quick ball giving Clark Wells the space to go over.

After the restart, Otley gave away a penalty on the ten-metre line and another just after the lineout. With a quick tapand-go, Harrison Moulding got the ball to Harry Thompson, who powered his way over. Despite a yellow card, Otley continued to press and got a penalty that was kicked into the lefthand corner. They were held up over the line but, with a penalty in their pocket, they continued their attack.

They were rewarded when a long pass out to Sam Hodge saw him get Otley's bonus-point try with 15 minutes to go.

Having returned the restart, Otley continued to press Preston's defence but they were unable to make it count.

It was only after a Crossland kick had to be killed in the dead-ball area that they did manage to get a scrum.

Joe Rowntree flicked the ball back through his legs and it then found its way to Clark, who scored to the left of the posts after 75 minutes.

Preston launched one final attack and good Otley defence frustrated them.

As the game came to a close, Otley took the ball from an attacking Preston outfit and kicked it into touch.

Joel Unsworth, Preston's coach, said: “It was the small margins that did for us.

“Our lineout wasn't working and missing 11 points didn't help us. Otley took their chances and deserved to win.”