Godwin wraps up Cas double

Halifax 10 Castleford

Castleford are such notoriously slow starters that, until last night, they had never won the first two games of a Super League season.

They put that right at the Shay, but only after overcoming a strong effort from opponents who looked to have the spirit to defy some of the dire predictions for their campaign.

There was little to choose between the two sides who had surprising victories in the first weekend of the competition, but 12 points in five minutes of the second half tilted the game the Tigers' way.

Although Castleford took the lead through an early Wayne Bartrim penalty, they soon found themselves under steady Halifax pressure, which ended in Dane Dorahy picking his way through from 10 yards out with some lovely footwork for a try which he converted himself.

Pre-season favourites for relegation they might be, but Halifax were playing with tremendous enthusiasm and they would have been further ahead if Martin Moana could have held on to Andy Hobson's pass with the try line open.

Cas were struggling to get into the game, blocked by some fierce Halifax tackling, but they finally broke through just after the half-hour when, for the first time, Bartrim found some space and Ryan Hudson supplied the scoring pass for Francis Maloney, making his second debut for the club.

Bartim's kick put the Tigers in the lead and they would have soon gone further ahead but for Lee Finnerty's crash tackle on Bartrim after Michael Smith and Danny Orr had opened up the defence. Immediately before half-time, Dorahy put Halifax level with a penalty awarded for offside and that was a fair reflection of a hard-fought first half.

Nine minutes after the break Dorahy put the home side back in front with a penalty after he had been held down by Paul Jackson.

It was a former Halifax fullback, Damian Gibson, who struck the crucial blow against his old club, touching down after Michael Eagar had latched on to Maloney's kick for the corner. Orr missed the conversion, but was on the mark soon after when Stuart Donlan was penalised for holding down Hudson.

Michael Smith's superb one-handed pass and Mark Lennon's pace then paved the way for Wayne Godwin to score the killer try. Orr's conversion completed a scoreline that made Castleford's unique early-season double look more straightforward than it had been.

Halifax: Finnerty; Greenwood, Donlan, Clayton, Norman; Moana, Dorahy; Hobson, Lawless, Birchall, Cruckshank, Brocklehurst, McMenemy. Substitutes used: Cardiss, Penkywicz, Davidson, Seuseu.

Castleford: Gibson; Pryce, Eagar, Johnson, Rogers; Orr, Lennon; Sykes, Bartrim, Lynch, Smith, Fritz, Hudson. Substitutes used: Maloney, Jackson, Thackray, Godwin.

Referee: R Silverwood (Mirfield).