The Woldsmen welcomed Morley to Kelleythorpe on Saturday for their penultimate home game of the year. Driffield started the day at the top of the table, with Morley closer to the bottom, but victories against the men from West Yorkshire have always been hard to come by and the home side knew league position would be no indicator of the game to come.
Both sides started brightly and despite Driffield working an opening down the clubhouse side, it was Morley who opened the scoring with a penalty after Driffield failed to roll away. Driffield hit straight back with James Watts attacking the line and offloading to eventually find Ramsden who scored for Watts to convert.
Morley went straight back on the attack, using their superior size in the set-piece and pressurising Driffield with repeated scrums. Johnson received a yellow card for a deliberate knock on, and Morley opted for a scrum, but Rob Watts, making his first appearance from the home side, disrupted the ball and Driffield were able to clear.
Both sides traded penalties before Watts knocked one over from distance after Brankley earned the penalty with a strong tackle that drove his man backwards.
Driffield conceded a penalty straight from the restart which enabled Morley to gain field position deep in Driffield’s half. From recycled ball, the Morley centre hit an excellent angle and scythed through the Driffield defence to score next to the posts. The conversion tied the scores at 13 apiece.
Driffield then lost two men to the sin bin in quick succession – Brankley for a tackle in the air, and then Rob Watts for repeated team infringements. Morley took advantage of their numerical superiority to claim a push-over try, which they converted to retake the lead.
Driffield fought back with a clever inside ball nearly bringing a try for Mewburn, but he was hauled down short of the line and Watts had to make do with 3 points to leave the half time score 16-20.
In contrast to the first half, the second started in a scrappy fashion with neither side able to seize the game by the scruff and take a decisive lead. Morley lost a man to the bin for a high tackle and this gave Driffield the chance to build some pressure. A forward pass ruled out a try for Davies, but captain Mewburn was able to wrestle the lead back with a short range try next to the posts. Watts converted to leave the score 23-20.
For the second time in the game, Driffield conceded a penalty straight from the restart which Morley converted to level the scores.
Driffield went back on the attack from the restart, looking dangerous when they were able to go through the phases and keep the tempo high. A wide pass in the Morley twenty two was picked off by the Morley centre who broke free, deep into Driffield territory. Driffield managed to scramble well and drag him down, but the ball was well offloaded to the supporting player to score next to the posts for a converted try.
Undeterred, Driffield tried to hit back and Brankley charged onto a short pass and barrelled his way over the line to score out wide. Watts landed an excellent conversion to level the scores at 30 points all.
With time running out, both sides looked jittery and made errors. After a handling error gave Morley a midfield scrum, a kick straight to touch gave Driffield the ball back. Ramsden found his man with a pressure throw and Driffield edged towards the twenty two. Morley hands on the floor gave Driffield a chance to win the game and Watts kept his cool to convert and steal victory with the last move of the match.