HEREFORD clinched promotion after a superb performance in a bruising Midlands 2 promotion play-off clash at Heslam Park.

The Wyesiders thoroughly deserved their victory in North Lincolnshire with a tough-tackling display which underlined their growing maturity.

At this stage 12 months ago, Hereford were demolished 43-13 on their own patch by Hinckley.

But last Saturday, Hereford bossed their way to a memorable triumph in front of Scunthorpe’s biggest home crowd of the season.

While Hereford’s success was built on solid defence, they dominated possession and territory in this winner-takes-all contest.

Hereford won several line-outs against the head and scored the game’s only try through Nick Harrison. They probably should have scored at least two others.

Fly-half Dean Powell rarely put a foot wrong and capped an assured display with three penalties and a conversion.

Hereford’s players tackled like their lives depended on it and Scunthorpe, who were runners-up in Midlands 2 East, rarely threatened to pierce the visitors’ defence.

The visitors snuffed out the threat of Scunthorpe’s free-scoring winger Rewiti Viamoso, who topped the Midlands 2 East charts with 21 tries.

Hereford had 11 players in their line-up who had suffered the play-off heartache against Hinckley last season.

And the visitors showed their intent in the third minute when Kieram Hallam made a darting run before he was closed down after cutting inside.

Scunthorpe had an opportunity to take the lead in the sixth minute but full-back Chris Neal dragged his penalty, from the half-way line, to the left of the posts.

Hereford continued to have the better of the play and, with Jamie Bullock leading the forward charge, the visitors knocked on just short of the Scunthorpe line.

Full-back Hallam and Adam Gwynne started to link up well on the left and Hereford deservedly opened the scoring in the 22nd minute after prop Ben Probert had turned over the ball in midfield.

Des White raced down the left and cut inside with a two-man overlap outside him. However, the chance had not escaped Hereford because the visitors switched play to the right and Nick Harrison collected an off-load from Dean Powell.

The flanker side-stepped an opponent to power over for the try and Powell added the conversion to put Hereford 7-0 in front.

Scunthorpe rallied but Hereford almost increased their lead in the 37th minute through Sean Day, after neat passing from White and Powell, but he was stopped short of the line.

A nasty collision between Hereford’s Hallam and Scunthorpe’s Gavin Kempthorne resulted in a lengthy stoppage. Kempthorne appeared to come off the worst and left the field with a suspected broken nose.

Hereford extended their advantage to 10 points with Powell’s 22-metre penalty in the fourth-minute of first-half stoppage-time.

But Scunthorpe hit back two minutes later and registered their first points with a penalty from Neal in the final action of the half.

Scunthorpe started the second half with renewed vigour but Hereford weathered a five-minute storm before regaining control.

Hereford camped close to the Scunthorpe line in the 53rd minute and their pressure led to a Powell penalty which put the visitors 13-3 ahead.

White was yellow-carded a minute later for holding in the ruck and Neal immediately made the Wyesiders pay, slotting over the resulting penalty from close-range.

Despite being a player short, Hereford still looked the more likely to score.

They came mightily close in the 58th minute when Day bore down on the home line before knocking on with support on his inside.

Powell stretched Hereford’s lead to 16-6 with his third penalty in the 59th minute and he continued to dictate the play with some intelligent tactical kicks.

The game was visibly slipping away from the hosts and every Hereford tackle or Scunthorpe error was greeted with cheers by the 60-or-so supporters who had made the three-hour trip from Herefordshire.

Neal gave the home side hope with a penalty two minutes into stoppage-time after Hereford were caught offside.

Hereford’s tackling remained strong and Scunthorpe struggled for a further five minutes before the final whistle brought delight to the visiting players and supporters.

The Wyesiders deserve their promotion to National 3 Midlands after just two seasons in Midlands 2 West.

Scunthorpe: Neal, Davies, Wright (Wade, 62 min), Parker, Viamoso, Foster, Murrey (Parratt, 44 min); Tomlinson, Mist, Sewell, Sidebottom, Scargall, Ward, Kempthorne (Drewery, 39 min), Garbutt. Replacement not used: Fagan.

Hereford: Hallam, Gwynne, Knight, White, Day, Powell, Billy Grisman; Hillstead, Miles, Probert, Bullock, Richard Preece, Harrison, Pritchard, McColl. Replacements not used: Jenkins, Lewis, Will Watkins, Osborne.

Referee: Nick Ramsden (Yorkshire Society).

Tries: Hereford: Harrison, 22 min.

Conversions: Hereford: Powell, 22 min.

Penalties: Scunthorpe: Neal, 40 min; Neal, 54 min; Neal, 80 min. Hereford: Powell, 40 min; Powell, 53 min; Powell, 59 min.

Yellow card: Hereford: White, 54 min.

Half-time: 3-10.

Full-time: 9-16.