Youth prevails

There could be only one winner, and in the battle for half-back supremacy the youngsters of York Wasps triumphed emphatically over the veterans of Bramley.

Triumphant: Wasps centre Richard Goddard crashes over, watched by team-mate Leigh Deakin, for York's first try in the 22-12 win over Bramley at Huntington Stadium yesterday

Watching brief: Gary Schofield looks on as Wasps' Andy Precious is tackled

No team in the Northern Ford Premiership can boast a bigger name combination than former Great Britain internationals Garry Schofield and Mike Ford. But similarly no team in the Premiership can boast a more promising pair than Mark Cain and Darren Callaghan.

And yesterday that promise showed itself in all its glory as Cain and Callaghan destroyed their illustrious opponents in 40 minutes of sheer class.

In Callaghan the Wasps have unearthed one of those rare phenomenons which every club strives to find - a true matchwinner. At the age of 22 and in his debut season of professional rugby league, he has taken on the scrum half role for the first time in his career and made it his own.

His ever-improving understanding with stand off Cain is giving the Wasps a look of real quality and it was no coincidence that when Cain was replaced by Andy Preston with 20 minutes to go the direction of the side was lost.

Bramley never had that problem - they never found the direction in the first place. Schofield looked a sad shadow of the great player he once was and, while player-coach Ford tried desperately to drag his dismal team up to anything like the level of recent weeks, his team-mates were just not good enough. Even Schofield's much admired kicking game was, like the player himself, non-existent.

But the Wasps must be credited for making the most of the situation, at least for 40 minutes. Their first half display was outstanding - cool, controlled, solid. The second half was, in contrast, sloppy, slack and dangerous.

Fortunately they had done enough early on to ensure the points but the fact that such an inferior side who were never in the game finished with the same number of tries should serve as a warning shot for the future.

York were given an ideal start by rejuvinated Andy Precious who slotted over a drop goal just three minutes into the game after a fine run by Mick Hagan.

Five minutes later Rich Goddard collected a pass from Cain and shrugged off Dave Gibbons and Simon Wray to crash over the line. It was too far out for Jamie Benn, returning after injury at full back, to convert but York soon increased their advantage when a wonderful break from Cain brought play to the Bramley 20 metre line and Callaghan sensibly opted for the drop goal.

Bramley contributed to their own downfall on 15 and 20 minutes when they conceded silly penalties in front of their own posts to give Benn two easy goals.

The best was yet to come, and it came from Callaghan shortly before the interval. He regathered his own perfectly placed grubber kick before slipping the ball out to Paul Darley who fed Leigh Deakin wide out on the left and the wingman gratefully dived over.

The 14-0 half-time scoreline became 20-0 two minutes into the second period as Alan Pallister took the ball from acting half and went one way then the other to race through a huge gap in the defence and touch down just to the left of posts, leaving Benn a simple conversion.

Bramley finally made inroads four minutes later when Ford's pass sent winger Simon Wray in at the corner as the York defence stood and watched. On a poor kicking day for the visitors, Anthony Gibbons missed the conversion to leave York plenty of breathing space.

Benn extended the lead further when Bramley were penalised for offside, once again in front of their own posts, then came an incident which changed the course of the match. Bramley prop Ryan McDonald was sent off for headbutting Andy Precious, forcing the Wasps man off the field with a bloody face and seemingly firing up the visitors as York sat back.

Former York winger Nicky Render got to Ford's high kick before crowd favourite Leroy McKenzie to score Bramley's second, Gibbons again unsuccessful with the extras, then former Castleford hooker Richard Russell crossed the line but was tackeld on his back.

With ten minutes to go Render scored his second after running onto a long ball from Schofield whose conversion attempt went the same away as Gibbons' previous efforts and the rest of his performance - well wide of the mark.

Wasps Match Facts

Northern Ford Premiership, at Huntington Stadium

York Wasps 22

Tries: Goddard (8mins), Deakin (33), Pallister (42)

Goals: Benn 4

Drop goals: Precious (3mins), Callaghan (12)

Jamie Benn 8, Leroy McKenzie 7, John Strange 7, Rich Goddard 7, Leigh Deakin 7, Mark Cain 8, Darren Callaghan 9, Mike Hagan 7, Alan Pallister 7, Andy Precious 7, Paul Darley7, Mick Ramsden7, Peter Edwards 8. Subs: Andy Preston (for Cain 60mons) 6, Chris Judge (Pallister 48) 7, Shaun Austerfield (Goddard 72), Matt Lambert (Hagan 27) 7. Re-subs: Hagan (Precious 52), Precious (Hagan 70), Pallister (Darley 70).

Scrums: 10. Penalties: 9

Bramley 12

Tries: Wray (46mins), Render (58, 70)

Anthony Gibbons, Simon Wray, David Gibbons, Dan Potter, Nicky Render, Garry Schofield, Mike Ford, Ryan McDonald, Mike Gibson, Mark Webster, Wayne Freeman, Danny McAllister, Tom O'Reilly. Subs: Micky Horner (for O'Reilly 70), Glen Freeman (Webster 18), Richard Russell (Gibson 57), Eugene Currie (McDonald 29).

Sent off: McDonald (50mins, headbutting)

Scrums: 9. Penalties: 4.

H/T: 14-0

Ref: Colin Morris (Huddersfield)

Attendance: 984

Match rating: 7/10

Weather: Dry and bright

The Evening Press Man of the Match

Darren Callaghan: Inspired performance by the scrum half who was unfazed by facing two former GB stars. Looked dangerous every time he touched the ball and showed real class in setting up Deakin's try.

Schofield hails York duo's Super show

Dynamic duo Mark Cain and Darren Callaghan have been tipped for the top by former Great Britain captain Garry Schofield.

The half-backs, in particular scrum half Callaghan, tore Schofield and his Bramley side apart with a stunning show at Huntington Stadium to end the visitors' winning run.

Bramley had won all three games since Schofield's arrival from Doncaster, the stand-off forming a formidable half-back combination with player-coach and fellow ex-GB star Mike Ford.

But yesterday they had no answer to the class of the York pair who caught the eye of Schofield. The former Leeds and Hull favourite is confident they can go on to become big names in the game and said: "It's the first time I've seen them play but I've seen the reports about them. They look very promising half-backs and look like they have got a bright future. They took the forwards forward and took the right options which is the key thing in those positions.

"I'm sure the two lads are ambitious. The top teams watch the lower teams and pick up the best players. If a Super League club came in for them I'm sure York wouldn't stand in their way.

"The way the lads are playing they could go a long way but at this stage it's all about sacrifices. They've got to listen to the coaches, keep learning and working hard and there's no reason why they can't go on to greater things."Schofield also praised the York team as a whole.

He said: "The first half we started very slowly. They came in at half-time very much the best team due to enthusiasm. We came here with plenty of confidence but we've let ourselves down. We didn't compete for 80 minutes and we didn't deserve to win.

"All credit to York. There's not much between the teams in this division and the way York are playing I can't see why they can't be up there at the end of the season."

Callaghan relished the chance to come up against two of the game's greats in Schofield and Ford.

He said: "In the first half I enjoyed it. I couldn't believe how many gaps there were. Schofield didn't do much but Ford came into it in the second half. We let them run around and backed off them and you can't afford to do that."

It was very much the cliched game of two halves as York dominated the first 40 only to let Bramley back into it in the second, a fact acknowledged by coach Dean Robinson.

"They've been playing some very attractive football and no doubt they fancied their chances but for the first half there was only one side in it.

"We started very very well and in the first half perhaps played the best 40 minutes collectively since the start of the season. We came out for the second half and continued where we left off, then with the sending off (Ryan McDonald) the game was there for the taking but we've gone the other way. Instead of turning the screw we've let them get back into it.

"That's something we're going to have to get out of because there are other good sides to come and we can't allow sides to get back into the game.

"But to be fair, Bramley were playing catch-up football, resorting to a wild kicking game and throwing balls anywhere and it's come off for them."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.