North Wales Crusaders took another step towards the Betfred League One title as they battled blistering heat on the North Wales coast to overcome a determined Dewsbury side.
On an afternoon where both sides were looking for a vital two points on offer in Colwyn Bay, it was Carl Forster’s Crusaders who came away with the victory following a gritty performance against a Rams side looking to keep their play-off hopes alive.
Having swept aside title challengers Workington Town last weekend, North Wales entered the game in high spirits.
However, just as Forster has warned in the week, Dewsbury arrived at Stadiwm CSM with a plan to frustrate his side and make for a difficult afternoon on the hottest day of the year to date.
In spite of the heat, neither side held back with the opening 10 minutes setting the tone for the afternoon as the teams got to grips with each other.
However, the scoring was eventually opened soon after as the home side took advantage of Dewsbury jumping out of the defensive line which in turn left space for Jordy Gibson to send Pat Ah Van over the line.
After a period of strong defence, Crusaders doubled their lead. After Jamie Dallimore came close to dancing his way through the Rams’ line, Lloyd Roby made no mistake with the second play as he was dropped off to score.
Moments later North Wales further extended their lead as a storming run from Chris Barratt made space for Olly Davies who he found on his inside to score.
Despite the host’s dominance, Dewbury managed to get themselves back into the game on the stroke of half-time as Liam Copland finished a nice move down the wing to bring the scores to 16-6.
As the sun continued to beat down on Stadiwm CSM, both sides began the second half strong in defence as a physical encounter ensued with the next score vital.
Such was the strength of both team’s defence, it took until the final five minutes for further score, with the try falling the way of Crusaders as Sam Wilde was fastest to react to a Gibson grubber kick, scoring to seal a 20-6 victory over Dewsbury and move North Wales four points clear at the top of League One.