INJURIES, holidays and suspension contributed to Malton and Norton's 21-15 defeat in their first game in Northumberland and Durham 1.
Malton opened their account with a score from Duncan Foster after good work by Ian Cooke and Andy Mitchell.
Ponteland hit back with a converted try and Ponteland struck again when the home scrum-half was given too much space to dart over for a converted try.
Malton were 14-5 down but responded with a glorious try as the ball was passed through several pairs of hands before reaching winger Elliot Richardson, who sidestepped past three defenders and sped in to score.
Malton looked the better unit but they failed to deal with a harmless kick and Ponteland stole in for a third converted try.
Malton had the last word with Mitchell backing up Richard John to score.
Updated: 10:40 Monday, September 05, 2005
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