Barnsley 17 v Leos 17

Report by Peter Cooke

After a comfortable win over Baildon,Leos travelled to Barnsley in confident mood, on another glorious sunny day. Barnsley were relegated last season but the sides were level on points in the early league table, with two wins each, from the opening three games. A tight game was likely therefore, particularly as Barnsley had narrowly won their two games against Hullensians and Knottingley and suffered a two point defeat at Bradford Salem in their other

Leos were forced into changes, with Chris Lewis, Jordache Myerscough and WIill Levitt returning to the forwards, positional changes in the backs to accommodate for the loss of Richard Bean, whilst James Lund made his seasons debut from the bench, together with Dr.Knapp,who we welcomed back after a number of years, due to his sabbatical with Leeds Medics.

Leos had the early pressure and really should have scored in the opening moments, when drives from Jordache Myerscough and Danny Thompson created a hole but the scoring pass was put to ground.However,the opening score was not long delayed, as Will Levitt drove in a tap penalty, Ed Connell and Chris Lewis cleared out and Ed Farmers vision down the blind side put Mark McDaid in from 30m but the conversion was missed.

Leos then dominated field position for the next 15mins,without ever really threatening a second try. The set pieces were even, James Henry won the kicking duel but the home defence was solid.

Then, on 18mins,a Leos kick around the halfway line was charged down,crucially,Leos did not respond and a Barnsley player strolled 50m to the line. The conversion put the home side 7 - 5 up after 18mins,on their first visit to the Leos half. Leos regained the lead on 25mins,when a typical James Knibbs drive off James Henry, took the ball into contact and Barnsley again killed quick balked Farmer, coolly slotted the 35m penalty. Leos were enjoying more possession and position and showing far more invention, without truly opening up the home sides defence.

In the later stages of the half, Barnsley gained some field position and were rewarded with a penalty on 38mins,to amazingly take a 10 - 8 lead into half time, after 40mins when they had been totally outplayed, yet Leos had failed to take their opportunities.

The second half continued in similar fashion, with James Debenham winning clean lineout ball, Richie Howells taking the ball in, before Jordache Myerscough was held up inches short.However,the referee was playing an advantage after Barnsley were again penalised for trying to slow the ball down and Ed Farmer gave Leos a single point lead on 43mins.

Barnsley enjoyed slightly more field position but Will Levitt and James Farad were winning the battle at breakdown, with the home side becoming increasingly frustrated in their attempts to slow the ball. Another Ed Farmer penalty on 49mins gave Leos a little breathing space but crucially a longer attempt a few minutes later, just grazed the outside of the post.

Leos couldn't secure the vital two score lead, whilst the home side were resolute in defence. A clean break by Danny Thompson in midfield, could only be stopped by a desperate high tackle, resulting in Barnsley being reduced to 14 men for 10 minutes. Still Leos couldn't force their way over.

First a break down the right involving Mark Winter and Tim Sleight was brought back for a marginal forward pass, then a crucial lineout on the Barnsley line was ruled not straight, before a somewhat speculative kick relieved the pressure for Barnsley. This seemed to give the home side renewed hope and they enjoyed their best phase of the game. Gareth Chesters replaced James Debenham.

Back to fifteen men and winning a number of penalties, Barnsley attacked the Leos line, chiefly through their pack. Catch and drive attempts were rebuffed and when they tried to run the ball wide, Leos line speed in mid field drove them back.However,with time running out,a final surge from the Barnsley forwards, finally found a gap in the Leos fringe defence and the conversion gave Barnsley a 17 - 14 lead on 76mins.

In the final moments, James Henry found the corner,Lenny Lane won ball, a drive into midfield from James Knibbs,the referee's shouts to roll away were again ignored by the home defence and Ed Farmer had the opportunity to level the scores. The Leos man of the match calmly stepped up and slotted the penalty to give a final score of 17 - 17.

In many ways, a typical tight, competitive game of league rugby, played in good spirits, with both teams probably feeling they should have won. Leos certainly had the better of possession and field position but perhaps drove the ball into contact too much and took the wrong options at crucial times, whilst the home side were resolute in defence and took their few opportunities, so arguably, a draw was a fair result.

Elsewhere, Sheffield Medics continue to impress with a win at West Leeds, whilst surprisingly,Ripon have had a disastrous start to the season, losing heavily at Hullensians. Next week, old foes Bradford Salem are the visitors to Crag Lane, for what is likely to be another tight, competitive game. The Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford will also be screened, between Wigan and Warrington. Early season playing records have been updated on the first team web pages of The Team and Statistics respectively.