Wildcats pounce for late win
Danny Brough and Scott Grix gave Wakefield a 20-18 victory over Harlequins in the dying moments of a thrilling encounter at Belle Vue.
Last Updated: 28/06/09 9:00pm
Danny Brough and Scott Grix combined in the dying moments of a thrilling encounter at Belle Vue to hand Wakefield a 20-18 victory over Harlequins on Sunday.
Quins looked to have wrapped the game up when second-half scores by Luke Gale and Chad Randall added to an earlier touchdown from Danny Orr.
But, following first half tries for the hosts from Oliver Wilkes and Tony Martin, Grix crossed in the last minute and Brough added the extras to give the hosts the win at the death.
Wakefield gifted Harlequins the lead in the ninth minute thanks to a terrible blunder by winger Grix, who inexplicably dropped the ball 20 metres short of his own line.
Orr needed no encouragement to collect the stray ball and scamper clear to touch down just wide of the posts, giving himself a routine conversion to open up a 6-0 lead.
Outpaced
Wakefield however responded immediately and within three minutes influential scrum-half Brough had engineered the hosts an answer.
Brough collected a loose ball just inside his own half and outpaced a number of Quins defenders before offloading to the supporting Wilkes.
A desperate late lunge on the line from Matt Gafa was not enough to stop Wilkes, who cruised in from 20 metres. Brough added the extras.
Wakefield kept up the pressure and soon claimed their second, Drew running from deep inside his half before slipping Martin a perfectly-timed pass.
The stand-off sprinted into the left corner but the angle proved too difficult for Brough who missed the conversion.
Stunned
Five minutes into the second half and Brough missed again, watching his penalty attempt sail wide of the posts.
He was on target to nudge his side further ahead ten minutes later though before Gale stunned the home side to draw Quins level.
The stand-off showed a combination of searing pace and clever footwork to dart through a gap in the home defence and cross for a try and give Orr an easy conversion.
Another penalty from Brough kept Wakefield in contention but in the 69th minute Randall collected a pass from Karl Temata and touched down Quins' third, converted by Orr.
Wakefield however refused to lie down and the late pressure paid off when Sean Gleeson's pass found Grix in the right corner and Brough converted to send the Belle Vue faithful wild
