Crosfields 40 East Leeds 16

AHEAD of two tricky away trips, Crosfields saw off promotion rivals East Leeds with a second-half display that was labelled as “glorious” by head coach Ian Boden.

Soap were narrowly ahead at the interval, but 22 unanswered points after the break propelled them up to second in National Conference League Division Two.

They travel to Dewsbury Moor Maroons – the team they leapfrogged on Saturday – for a crunch clash on Wednesday evening before a trip to Askam at the weekend.

Luke Walker scored twice to set up their 10th straight win on Saturday, with further tries coming from Nathan Taylor, Joe Clarke, Matt Barber, Mitchell McJay and Jack Reid, who converted all but one of Soap’s touchdowns.

“We were slow out of the blocks, but were gifted a route back into the game and we took it with both hands,” Boden said.

“The lads’ performance in the second half was just glorious and a joy to watch.

“To be honest, I thought we were lucky to go in 18-16 up at the break but the response to our half-time chat was outstanding.”

Two unconverted tries gave East Leeds the ideal start before Walker put Taylor away to score out wide for Soap.

Walker then went from provider to scorer as he stepped inside the defence to put the hosts ahead, but two more four-point efforts ensured East Leeds wrestled back the momentum.

However, once Clarke powered over to give Crosfields a half-time lead, they did not look back.

East Leeds’ Joe Issota gave them a helping hand by being sent off for dissent and Soap took immediate advantage as Walker crossed from a set play directed by Reid.

Barber then finished off Hayden James’ break from dummy-half to put his side fully in control as more gaps started to appear, with McJay finding one to add his name to the scoresheet.

Soap captain Reid had the final say as Soap prepared perfectly for their big tests ahead.

Crosfields: John Whittaker; Dan Reid, Chris Hull, Luke Walker, Nathan Taylor; Jack Reid, Joe Clarke; Phil Brazendale, Hayden James, Tom Brown, Jordan Williams, Mitchell McJay, Matt Barber. Subs: Brad Stanway, Lewis Bani, Jordan Ansell, Jordan Chilton.