THATTO Heath were given their toughest test of the season by Siddal with a nerve-racking finale, but Crusaders marched on to the semi-final.

Heath full back Lewis Fairhurst opened the scoring with an 11th minute penalty.

Strong defence from the homesters kept the Halifax side at bay, keeping them scoreless for the first half.

The Heath line finally cracked on 57 minutes when Siddal centre Ben West crossed in the corner.

This spurred Thatto’s middles to up their game which paid off when sub Jack Cottington crossed after being sent over by dummy half Lewis Foster. Fairhurst converted and three minutes later Heath were in again.

A fine break from prop Adam Hesketh was backed up by stand off Jack Jones, who evaded three defenders for a memorable try.

Fairhurst’s goal nudged the score up to 14-6, before Gareth Blackburn struck a penalty to put the game back in the melting pot with three minutes to play.

And with one minute left on the clock West grabbed his second in the corner for Siddal, but crucially the conversion was missed.

It set up a nerve-racking final few moments but Heath held on.

Stand out performer for Heath was Jack Cottington, but all 34 players played their part in an enthralling play-off tie.

Heath now face Hunslet Parkside at home on Saturday with a place in the Grand Final at stake.