Buffaloes amazing comeback just falls just short in 12 try thriller against King Cross.
Andy and Devon Johnson
The Buffaloes were up against the league leaders for the second week running after their excellent win last week against the top-of-the-table Sharlston. Unfortunately, due to player availability, 5 out of 7 of the starting backline from the previous week’s win were not on the field.
The Buffaloes were quickly reminded of the size of the task in hand when after an even first 15 minutes, the speedy King Cross backs moved the ball wide to beat the Buffaloes cover and go in for an unconverted try. Score Buffaloes 0 -4.
Although the Buffaloes forwards tried extremely hard to give their backs a platform to work on, the slope made this difficult against some robust tackling from King Cross. The second try went to King Cross in the 30th minute when the Buffaloes fumbled a high kick from the scrum-half whilst under pressure from some seemingly offside King Cross players. The try was unconverted, much to the King Cross scrum half’s displeasure, as it looked to have gone between the uprights: Score Buffaloes 0-8.
The Buffaloes had a good spell of possession in the last 10 minutes, and only a couple of dropped balls and last-gasp tackling kept them out before King Cross went in for their third try in the 40th minute. Not for the first time, a high kick from the scrum-half on the last tackle appeared to see several King Cross players in an offside position, but the referee didn’t see it that way, and Kings Cross gathered and went in for a converted try: Half Time Score Buffaloes 0-14.
Although the Buffaloes were 14 points behind, there really did look little to choose between the 2 sides, and the Buffaloes showed capabilities as they charged down the hill in the second half.
The first Buffaloes try came in the 45th minute when the strong running Sam Neave went through some weak King Cross tackling to go over for a try: Score Buffaloes 4 -14.
Five minutes later, an equally strong run by centre Tom Jackson found him beating several would-be King Cross tacklers to go in for the Buffaloes second try of the afternoon: Score Buffaloes 8 -14.
The Buffaloes forwards were moving well, and a try and conversion in 55 minutes levelled the scores. This time, Tony Morrison crashed over the line from close range for a try he converted: Score Buffaloes 14-14.
In the 60th minute, the ”come back” was confirmed when player-coach Cam Leeming forced his way over close to the try line in the 60th minute; Score Buffaloes 18 -14.
The Buffaloes, though, were again reminded of the pace of the King Cross backs when in the 65 min Cam Leeming couldn’t get back to get to another high kick that fell kindly to the King Cross centre, who went in for his second try; Score Buffaloes 18- 20.
The Buffaloes, however, were in a determined mood and came back strongly with two tries of their own. The first was in the 75th minute when Lewis Bromley charged in for a try converted by Louis Morrison, and the second just 4 mins later with a trade mark storming run by today’s fullback Kieran Hudson; Score Buffaloes 28- 20.
After the pleasure of scoring came the pain, and with the 80 minutes gone and injury time being played, King Cross came back with a try. Once again, a high kick was put up on the last tackle, but Kieran Hudson had it covered and jumped up to take the ball. An apparently offside King Cross player was again ignored by the referee. As Kieran Hudson landed, he cried out in pain and whilst laid prone on the floor in agony, he opportunistic King Cross full back pinched Hudsons pocket, looking across at the referee who waved play on for him to romp over for a converted try.
The Buffaloes faithful certainly let the king Cross player know of their displeasure. Although he may have acted within the rules, he was undoubtedly guilty of bad sportsmanship. Coach Steve told him precisely what he thought about his behaviour: Score Buffaloes 28 – 26.
In a half that had now extended to a full 60 minutes. The Buffaloes were cruelly beaten in a final twist of fate with a further try by the King Cross fullback.
The Buffaloes moved the ball downfield, and the last tackle kick was sent upfield that was gathered by the King Cross fullback. The fullback went past 3 men before setting off the wing, and although it looked for an instance that Louis Morrison would take him into touch, the fullback evaded him, and Kieran was now on the sidelines. The only Buffaloes player left was Tom Langton. Tom would usually have been in a position to cover, but he could not get across this time, and the fullback raced away to score an excellent try. The conversion was made: Score Buffaloes 28 -32.
Although the Buffaloes continued to press hard in the remaining 4 mins of injury time, they couldn’t get over the line. King Cross had won due to converting 4 of their 6 tries, while the Buffaloes only converted 2 of their 6. If only Connor McGill had been available, the victory might have been ours – who knows?
We know that we are a match for any team in the division, and the players should hold their heads up high and look forward with confidence to the Cup semi-final in a week’s time at Premier division Doncaster Toll Bar.
Final score Buffaloes 28 – 32 King Cross
Buffaloes; 1) Kieran Hudson 2) Connor Booth 3) Sam Neave 4) Tom Jackson 5) Cam Leeming 6) Brad Wilson 7) Martin Loveridge 8) Louis Morrison 9) Lochlan McGill 10) Charlie McMurray 11) Tom Langton 12) Lewis Bromley 13) Bailey Harman 14) Tony Morrison 15) Jacob Oldroyd 16) Billy Butterworth 17) Michael Wright
Buffaloes scorers
Tries: Sam Neave (45), Tom Jackson (50), Tony Morrison (55), Cam Leeming (60), Lewis Bromley (75), Keiran Hudson (79)
Goals: Tony Morrison (55), Louis Morrison (75)