MALTON & Norton finally got off the mark in North One East with an exciting 25-21 victory at Dinnington.

The victory was their first in four league outings since promotion, but recent performances suggested it had been coming.

The game could have gone either way, though, with Dinnington missing a late kickable penalty to take the lead moments before Mbembe Payi booted one at the other end to seal the success.

Malton began brightly, playing with the urgency and ferocity needed to compete against bigger sides.

They should have opened the scoring earlier than midway through the half but either the ball was lost in possession or the final pass went astray.

They finally broke the deadlock with a Payi penalty but it was end-to-end stuff at this stage and Dinnington soon levelled when Malton were caught offside.

Just after the half-hour, Malton recorded the first touchdown.

Going for a pushover try, the scrum collapsed, and, with the referee signalling a penalty advantage, scrum-half James Bulmer dived over the mass of bodies, Payi converting.

Dinnington got a second penalty before half-time and went ahead with a try on the resumption, after some controversial refereeing decisions led to a home lineout.

A catch and drive and a subsequent release to the backs saw them use the extra man to cross near the posts.

The hosts' lead was extended to 18-10 in more controversial circumstances.

Taking their own ball at a lineout close to the Malton line, they drove forward but twice the ball carrier appeared to detach himself from the maul before rejoining in an illegal truck-and-trailer movement. The try was awarded and conversion successful.

Malton struck back quickly. From a lineout near half-way, they whipped the ball out through fly-half Luke Raduva to centre Vus Dyantjies who then fed flying wing Blake Spencer.

He made the defence-splitting run along the touchline before handing on to fellow speedster Payi, who sidestepped two defenders to score between the posts and convert.

Another penalty extended Dinnington's lead again but, on the hour, Malton produced some sparkling rugby to get their third try.

The forwards drove deep with a controlled push of almost 20 yards. When the ball was released, excellent handling at close quarters bamboozled the defence and Bulmer crossed, putting Malt 22-21 up.

With three minutes left Dinnington were awarded a kickable penalty. However, the crosswind came to Malton's aid and the ball sailed wide.

Malton kicked the restart deep into home territory and gained a lineout. With time almost up they retained possession well and forced Dinnington into conceding a penalty under their own posts, Payi's three points sealing the win.