Shaw Cross take positives from Acorn defeat as March takes charge of Sharks

Shaw Cross Sharks were beaten 34-12 away at York Acorn in National Conference League Division One last Saturday but there were plenty of positives to take from the performance, as Paul March took charge of the side after the departure of Zach Johnson.
Paul March took control of the Sharks at York Acorn following the departure of Zach Johnson.Paul March took control of the Sharks at York Acorn following the departure of Zach Johnson.
Paul March took control of the Sharks at York Acorn following the departure of Zach Johnson.

A slow start gave the Sharks an uphill task, however, as York started brilliantly with four tries in the first 25 minutes.

The first came after just five minutes, as a Joel Johnson offload set Joe Budd away in the clear to score.

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York almost had a second soon after but Ryan Chalkley managed to get back and save the try as they chased a loose ball.

York didn’t have to wait too long to extend their lead as a six minute spell of three tries put them in a commanding position.

Reece Rushworth broke from 30 metres and ran clear to score their second try, before Matt Chilton slipped in Jordan Potter who ran a great line to find a gap in the Sharks defence.

Josh Thompson scored their fourth, as the ball was moved left following a series of offloads from impressively quick hands, to make it 22-0.

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The Sharks never let heads drop and fought back into the game with two tries before half-time.

Matthew Tebb looked to dive under the defence and managed to force his way to the line.

Ricky Whiteman made a speedy break down the right and got the ball back inside for Cam Benson to grab a second try.

Danny Flowers kicked both conversions on his return and the Sharks were beginning to play with real confidence.

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Unfortunately they couldn’t carry that momentum into the second half, but continued to play positively in what became an increasingly tough midfield battle.

York extended the lead with two scores in the second period, the first coming from Nic Caldwell from his own kick and chase after 47 minutes.

They then put gloss on the score with a couple of minutes left to go as Chilton broke and passed inside for Joe Budd to score his second try and Acorn’s sixth, which leaves the Sharks second-bottom.