Dinnington finish 2019 with disappointing defeat

The hosts, who sit fourth in the National League, Yorkshire Division One table, inflicted a 29-14 loss.

But Dinnington felt that, on a better day, they could have got something from the match, which left them ninth in the 14-team division ahead of a Christmas break.

Transport problems didn’t help because they forced them to reshuffle their line-up just before kick-off which led to them going behind 10-0 in the opening ten minutes. First came a converted try and then a penalty.

The rest of the first half was scrappy, and there were no more points. Attacks ended with errors or infringements, giving penalties away.

The second half started with the floodlights being switched on as the skies darkened, and Dinnington’s mood was soon to match as the lively West Leeds winger ran almost the length of the field for a converted try within three minutes of the restart.

This was followed by another period of play where both sides turned the ball over too easily. A forward pass halted Dinnington after they had stolen the ball and a knock-on brought another promising chance to an end.

Just before the mid-point of the half, West Leeds forced Dinnington into touch inside their own 22 and then set up a catch and drive to score another converted try and extend their lead to 24-0.

Ten minutes later, Dinnington were again forced to hack into touch close to their own line and West Leeds worked the ball through several phases from the lineout to score in the corner and earn a bonus-point try.

Although West Leeds, a big side, were visibly tiring, It was all over as a contest. But at least Dinnington came to life with two tries, both from quickly-taken penalties and both converted by Jonny West, in the last ten minutes of the match.

First, close to the home line, they opted for a scrum when West Leeds infringed and Will Marshall pounced from the back to score. Then a break by Todd Bonsall and John Sommerville led to Ryan Donnelly scoring.