After that initial spell the visitors recovered but never enough to really threaten the result.
Playing with a strong wind behind them West couldn't have started much better. Within a minute of the kick off Paul Vinnicombe blocked an attempted clearance, collected the loose ball and galloped in under the posts to leave Paul Moss the easiest possible coversion, although the ball still needed holding due to the strength of the wind!
Things got better for West almost straight from the restart. Gareth Kerr got a foot to a loose ball and won the race to collect and score, once again leaving Moss an easy conversion.
At 14-0 with only 3 minutes played it seemed like a big score could be on the cards. West continued to dominate with Jamie Connolly looking threatening and only some handling errors stopping further scores. It wasn't long before the next try came though, Iain Dixon delivering a well timed scoring pass to Colin Cheslin to go over in the corner. This time Moss' impossible wide conversion dropped well short.
Darlington responded with a good period of possession and developed their best attacking position, just inside the 22. They were rewarded with a penalty in front of the posts on 21 minutes which Nick Baldwin slotted easily.
West suffered another injury worry when Anth Carr was the victim of a nasty looking high tackle and after trying to return to action following a brief spell on the sideline had to be led from the field with a possible concussion.
Darlington lock Chris Oakley was yellow carded for the tackle and West's Iain Dixon joined him in the sin-bin for his reaction in the aftermath.
The visitors would have been hoping the 16 point deficit would have been easily overturnable in the second half given the advantage the wind provided but it proved not the case. Their kicking wasn't accurate enough and so they failed to develop enough of a territorial advantage. Two excellent tackles from Peter Hodgson, a half-time replacement for Darren Thomas, ended both of Darlo's best scoring chances and rest of their possession was limited to less dangerous areas.
West actually created some good chances of their own. Adam Coates was stopped just short as he drove for the line and an excellent break from Kerr off a half-break by Connolly was just lacking a final support runner to take the scoring pass.
In the end the second half brought no change to the score and West recorded an important win, taking them to 3 wins and 3 losses, a reasonable return from the games played so far. They'll be looking to improve that record even further next week with a winnable road trip to Cleckheaton.
West: I Dixon, C Cheslin, Kerr, Connolly, Thomas (Hodgson), Moss, Tighe, Carr (Stewart), Sawyer, Coates, T Dixon, I Robinson, Miller, D Boatman, Vinnicombe (Garside).
Tries: Vinnicombe, Kerr, C Cheslin
Cons: Moss 2
Sin-bin: I Dixon
Darlington: Moore, Tomblin, Lineton, Bivens, Tiatura, Baldwin, Richardson, Smith, Goddard, Osleton, Taylor, Oakley, Mabbutt, Rodgers, Knox.
Reps: Stowe, Paleschi, Sheppard
Pen: Baldwin
Sin-bin: Oakley
Referee: Dean Lythgoe
Related Links:
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Author: West Park Allotment
Date: 27-10-08 14:52
Solid performance this. I thought it was going to be a cricket score after the first five minutes but credit to Darlington for sticking at it.
We would have had more points if the wingers had hung back and not encouraged forward passes.
This week's game will be an interesting one. Must be a target game.
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