That was a real battle, but we dug deep and ground out a huge win against a side that has always given us trouble. Batley came with a clear plan—to disrupt, niggle, and drag us into a scrap, with Manning and Brown leading the charge—but we kept our composure and didn’t let them dictate the game. A stronger referee might have stepped in earlier to prevent things from boiling over, especially with the ugly scenes at the end, but credit to the lads for staying focused. 

I felt we made metres with ease, showing our dominance in the middle, and handled the tough conditions well—especially going up the slope in the second half. Batley came out firing after the break, throwing everything at us, but our defensive effort was immense, even when we went a man down. It wasn’t pretty at times, but we showed resilience, stuck to our game, and got the job done.

A massive win against a really tough opponent, and most importantly, we’re in the hat for the next round!

That was a real battle, but we dug deep and ground out a huge win against a side that has always given us trouble. Batley came with a clear plan—to disrupt, niggle, and drag us into a scrap, with Manning and Brown leading the charge—but we kept our composure and didn’t let them dictate the game. A stronger referee might have stepped in earlier to prevent things from boiling over, especially with the ugly scenes at the end, but credit to the lads for staying focused. 

I felt we made metres with ease, showing our dominance in the middle, and handled the tough conditions well—especially going up the slope in the second half. Batley came out firing after the break, throwing everything at us, but our defensive effort was immense, even when we went a man down. It wasn’t pretty at times, but we showed resilience, stuck to our game, and got the job done.

A massive win against a really tough opponent, and most importantly, we’re in the hat for the next round!

We've drawn Sheffield at home in the quarter final draw.

We've drawn Sheffield at home in the quarter final draw.

Where to start with that game?  Proper blood and thunder espcially in the second half.

Thought Michael Lawrence had a great game.  Thought Souter was excellent,  despite the yellow card which I thought was a bit harsh.  

We dominated the first half but didn't really get the points we wanted.  Not sure why but we never tried the cross kick to either winger.  With Okunbor and Armitage surely that's a tactic we need to use more?

The ref seemed to get a bee in his bonnet and penalised us repeatedly for offside yet didn't seem to notice Batley being repeatedly inside the 10.  Blake's high tackle seemed to be a bone of contention with him being a marked man right up until the brawl at the end.  Manning totally lost his marbles.   

Both clubs likely to be without players for a few matches due to suspensions.

Where to start with that game?  Proper blood and thunder espcially in the second half.

Thought Michael Lawrence had a great game.  Thought Souter was excellent,  despite the yellow card which I thought was a bit harsh.  

We dominated the first half but didn't really get the points we wanted.  Not sure why but we never tried the cross kick to either winger.  With Okunbor and Armitage surely that's a tactic we need to use more?

The ref seemed to get a bee in his bonnet and penalised us repeatedly for offside yet didn't seem to notice Batley being repeatedly inside the 10.  Blake's high tackle seemed to be a bone of contention with him being a marked man right up until the brawl at the end.  Manning totally lost his marbles.   

Both clubs likely to be without players for a few matches due to suspensions.