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Cas coach praise for battling stars
Rugby League, 10:33, February 6, 2010 ,
Castleford coach Terry Matterson was a very happy man after his side beat Leeds 24-10 in their season-opening Super League match.
The Rhinos went into the match as favourites, having already secured an emphatic victory away from home in their first match of season against Crusaders, but they could not hold onto a 10-6 half-time lead at a foggy Headingley on Friday night.
Danny McGuire scored the first try of the match for Leeds but James Evans hit back with a score for the visitors, before Brett Delaney touched down for the home side to give them a narrow lead at the break.
But the home fans were stunned as the Tigers notched up 18 unanswered points in the second period to end up comfortable winners in the west Yorkshire derby.
Joe Westerman converted his own try before Brent Sherwin chased down Rangi Chase's kick to touch down and Dean Widders added another four-pointer to seal the victory.
The defeat for the Rhinos was the first time in eight years that they have failed to win both of their opening Super League matches and Leeds coach Brian McClennan admitted that "the best team on the night won and did it well."
Matterson was delighted with the result and performance and praised his players for sticking to their task despite the quality of the opposition.
"We didn't really focus too much on who we were playing because we knew we were playing a great side," he said.
"What we did was play well. We were very enthusiastic, our kicking game was outstanding in the second half and we didn't give them a foothold back in the game. We're really happy with that.
"They created some opportunities and made some breaks but we were just desperate and the guys really believed."