Ulverston 31 Seaton Rangers 22

TWO long-range specials from Steve O’Connor and Matt Dean were the highlights of an impressive Ulverston win in the Cumbria League.

But it took more than a couple of flashes of individual spark to tame the heavyweight pack of the visitors – it was a genuine all-round team effort that enabled the home side to snatch the victory.

With only six minutes left, Ulverston could see all their hard work coming to nothing as Rangers edged into a 22-19 lead and were high on confidence. Two tries in those final minutes changed all that.

The first came when Dean took the ball off his toes after Seaton had tried a kick ahead and raced 80 yards along the touchline, with the visitors’ defence giving up the chase long before the winger touched down behind the posts.

To round off a spectacular turn-around, hooker Rowan Smedley smuggled his way over the line for Ulverston’s fifth try.

Earlier, Seaton had taken the lead when centre Logan Barker battled through a couple of tackles for the opening try converted by Dom Smallwood.

Ulverston drew level on 32 minutes when Seaton’s defence was caught short-handed by a high, looping pass from James Sandham that offered Matt Dean a walk-in at the corner.

Marc Storey’s goal levelled things up, but on the stroke of half-time the home side nudged ahead with the first of those long-distance tries.

Full-back O’Connor intercepted a pass that looked for all the world that it would lead to another Seaton try and his length of the field run left Rangers defenders chasing thin air.

Three minutes after the break, Matty Storey, who as much as anybody, stood up to the challenge of the heavier Seaton forwards, was rewarded for his non-stop aggression with a try that took Ulverston 12 points clear.

But it sounded a wake-up call for the visitors, and two tries in three minutes from Adam Cowan and Miguel Buano-Charters cut the gap to two points.

A Marc Storey drop-goal on the hour made it 19-16, but heavy Seaton pressure finally cracked the Ulverston defence and second row forward Oscar Harris scored to put the visitors in front.

Then came those match- winning moments for Ulverston and their supporters to celebrate.

Barrow Island suffered at the hands of West Bowling when they made their trip across the Pennines to Bradford, going down 62-16.

Askam A continued their good form in the Barrow And District League with six tries in a 34-22 win over Hindpool Tigers A. Their man of the match Rory Marshall bagged couple, with the others coming from Jackson, Lambton, Tippett and Cooper. Matty Archer with two tries was Tigers’ man of the match.