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© PA Sporting Life Injury-hit Castleford retained fifth place after grinding out a Super League win at rain-lashed Wheldon Road today. Winger Danny Ellison led the way with a try in each half as the Tigers overcame struggling Huddersfield. The Tigers took control with Ellison's first shortly before half-time and sealed a hard earned win with his second 10 minutes into the second-half. Castleford made a flying start when stand-off Danny Orr jinked through cleverly for a third-minute try which he also goaled. But Orr was injured as he scored and was taken off seven minutes later, replaced by Spencer Hargrave. The Tigers were then put under a lot of pressure from accurate kicks by Giants scrum-half Bobbie Goulding. The tactic paid off when Goulding's towering kick created a 23rd-minute try for winger Darren Simpson which the half-back converted from the touchline. Scrum-half Aaron Raper edged the Tigers back in front with a penalty goal before the home side increased their lead with Ellison's first score. Gael Tallec and Jason Flowers linked to put the wing man over, and Raper landed his second penalty on the stroke of half-time to make it 14-6. Castleford went further in front after 50 minutes when Raper's kick led to Ellison collecting his second. A drop goal from full-back Flowers nosed them further ahead. Huddersfield had the last word when Goulding and Andrew Tangata-Toa combined to put centre Jim Lenihan over seven minutes from time - but it came too late. By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport Leeds moved ominously closer to the top of Super League with another awesome power show at Headingley tonight. An nine-try destruction of injury-hit Castleford enabled the rampant Rhinos to close the gap on leaders Bradford to just two points as they stretched their unbeaten run to nine matches. After toppling reigning champions Wigan and the pacesetting Bulls in their previous two matches, Graham Murray's men simply oozed confidence and, after overcoming the shock of conceding a sixth-minute try, won at a canter in front of another bumper crowd of 16,371. With Saturday's tricky Wembley re-run at London in mind, Murray could afford to take captain Iestyn Harris off seven minutes into the second half. The emergency scrum-half had already contributed 18 points with two tries and five goals, but it was no one-man show. Centre Marvin Golden grabbed a hat-trick of tries but, from outstanding full-back Marcus St Hilaire to skilful hooker Lee Jackson, the Rhinos had class all over the pitch and outplayed the Tigers in most departments. Castleford coach Stuart Raper, who signed a new two-year contract before the match, went into the game without six regulars but enjoyed a dream start when Danny Orr supported a break from acting captain Dean Sampson to open the scoring. Orr, who is thought to be close to be following Raper's lead by signing a new contract, added the conversion to give his side a 6-0 lead after only six minutes. But the Tigers were reduced to 12 men on 19 minutes when Sampson was adjudged to have held down Terry Newton in the tackle, and Leeds immediately took advantage to score 12 points in the big man's absence. Harris opened his side's account with a penalty and then went through some threadbare tackling following a jinking run from Daryl Powell for the first of his tries. The Tigers were under constant siege, and the pressure told again just four minutes later when St Hilaire bust the first line of defence and former Castleford forward Andy Hay exposed a gap wide out for his fourth try in two games. The visitors rallied briefly following the return of Sampson, but Leeds were simply irresistible and ran in three further tries, two of them stunning efforts, in six minutes to put the game beyond doubt by half-time. First St Hilaire took Orr's high kick in the middle of a melee of players 15 metres from his own line and cut through a fragmented defence for a magnificent 85-metre try. Young forward Kevin Sinfield then broke through the first line of defence, and a long pass enabled winger Leroy Rivett to slip his man to touch down. The one-way traffic continued at the start of the second half with Golden touching down twice in the space of five minutes to make it 40-6. Castleford were unfortunate to catch Leeds in such unstoppable form but they gained some respite on 51 minutes when referee John Connolly stopped the clock for workmen to attend to a burst sprinkler. They also grabbed three late consolation tries to give the scoreline a measure of respect. Jon Wells burst through to send Darren Rogers in and then romped over himself before Michael Eagar crossed for his side's fourth try five minutes from the end. But a touchdown from Paul Sterling kept the Leeds score ticking over, and there were just seconds left when Golden won the race to his own kick over the line to complete his hat-trick. © PA Sporting Life Castleford maintained their challenge for a Super League play-off place by continuing their surge with a fourth victory in five games today. The Tigers ran in six tries to wreck Salford's hopes of gaining their first away league victory of the season. The Reds remain in the relegation mire, only three points above bottom side Hull. They never looked likely to avenge their Silk Cup Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat at Wheldon Road in March. They trailed 14-4 at half-time, and it wasn't until the final minute that Paul Highton scored their second try. The Reds made a lively start and missed several chances before Castleford went ahead in the 11th minute, winger John Wells going over after supporting a lovely break by captain Adrian Vowles. Tigers full-back Jason Flowers denied Salford's Mark Johnson with a try-saving tackle, but the Reds used the position to grab an equalising score. Carl Briggs and Garen Casey combined to put Johnson over after 28 minutes. Castleford regained the lead with two penalty goals from Francis Maloney and went further in front two minutes before half-time. Flowers and Aaron Raper sent Brad Hepi in, and the hooker was awarded a penalty try after having the ball pulled from his grasp as he went over. Salford had a let-off early in the second half when Tigers centre Mike Eagar spilled the ball as he attempted to touch down Raper's clever kick. But Castleford soon stretched their lead when Vowles and Hepi combined to put Eagar in, and Maloney added the goal. Salford's hopes of getting back in the game vanished completely as Castleford cut loose. Flowers got a touch down, winger Richard Gay went over twice and Maloney landed his seventh goal. Salford completed the scoring with Highton's late effort which Casey improved. © PA Sporting Life Gateshead completed their third Super League double and their ninth win from 11 games with an important victory over play-off rivals Castleford. There was little to choose between the sides in a closely-fought first half but second-half tries from Deon Bird and centre Steve Collins along with five successful goal attempts from winger Ian Herron left the Tigers toothless. Thunder were ahead after just two minutes. Gael Tallec was penalised for holding Mick Jenkins at the play-the-ball and Herron struck the ball home. Second rower Adam Maher then scored the Tynesiders only try of the first half from close in 10 minutes later and Herron's conversion made it 8-0. Richard Gay was held up just before the line on the sixth tackle going for a powerplay in the corner before Tigers full-back Jason Flowers reduced the arrears. Herron became the first Gateshead player to be sin-binned at the Thunderdome for contesting the validity of the try which Danny Orr converted. And then Newcastle Falcons flanker Steve O'Neill then became the first English player to represent Thunder when he replaced blood-binned tryscorer Maher just before the half hour. Castleford however made it honours even at 10-10 before the interval when prop Ian Tonks scored in the corner. Thunder began the second half in front of a 6,000 sunshine crowd positively and regained the lead within five minutes through loose forward Bird. Kerrod Walters made a fine cross-field run from dummy-half to feed Brett Grogan whose difficult pass was superbly taken low down by Bird for his sixth try of the season. Herron duly converted and then hit a 20-yard penalty to put Gateshead eight points in front. The game was finally put beyond Castleford when a handling error from Dean Sampson saw Craig Simon send centre Collins over on the left. Herron again converted to put Gateshead into a commanding 24-10 lead before Sampson atoned with a last-minute try that Orr converted near the left touchline. By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport Andy Goodway lost his unbeaten record as coach of the Super League champions as classy Cas completed their first double over Wigan for 10 years in magnificent fashion at Wheldon Road. The Tigers, enjoying their best ever Super League season, boosted their play-off hopes with an emphatic victory, secured by a breathtaking spell of three tries in 12 minutes midway through the second half. Australian scrum-half Brad Davis celebrated his return from a month's lay-off through injury with an inspirational man-of-the-match performance while half-back partner Danny Orr contributed 16 of his side's points with two tries and four goals. The match marked an unhappy return to Wheldon Road for Wigan stand-off Tony Smith, who was a £150,000 signing from Castleford two years ago. Yet Smith, on his 29th birthday, made the best possible start when he found a chink in the home defence on six minutes and sent the supporting Jon Clarke in for a try that Andy Farrell converted. But the resurgent Warriors, who had won four and drawn one of their five matches since the departure of John Monie, were outplayed for long periods and their customary forward power was blunted by the ferocious tackling of Dale Fritz and Adrian Vowles. The Tigers, battling to hang on to fifth spot after two defeats in their previous four matches, hit back when Orr forced his way over at the corner from dummy half after winger Richard Gay had been held short. The Yorkshiremen did not help their cause with a series of dropped passes but they more than made amends with two wonderful examples of slick handling that produced superb tries. First second rower Lee Harland scooped a pass one-handed from Dean Sampson to cross on 21 minutes and then, two minutes before the break, Davis re-gathered his own chip over the Wigan defence and crashed over. Castleford led 16-6 and fully deserved a useful advantage but two Wigan tries in six minutes early in the second half threatened to undo all their good work. Substitute Brett Goldspink, who appeared to be on his way out of Central Park a fortnight ago, got up a terrific head of steam 20 metres away from the line and knocked two defenders flying on an irresistible surge to the line for his first try for the club. Elusive winger Jason Robinson then scooted away from acting half-back to grab a trademark try, his 12th of the season, and Farrell's third goal edged Wigan 18-16 ahead. But Castleford lack nothing in resolve and the lead changed hands for a fourth time on 53 minutes when Davis' accurate kick to the corner was perfectly judged by winger Gay, who twisted out of Paul Johnson's tackle to touch down and Orr added the conversion from the touchline. And, when centre Francis Maloney crossed for his side's fifth try five minutes later following a clever switch of play by Aaron Raper, there was no way back for Wigan. Orr grabbed his second try, after Raper's kick had rebounded fortuitously off a post, and Davis wrapped up the scoring with a drop goal. |
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