West Bowling's interest in the GMB Union National Cup came to an abrupt end with an early second-round exit against old rivals Ovenden at the Bankfoot Oval.

The opening minutes saw some fiery exchanges and Bowling suffered a huge blow when player-coach Peter Simpson wobbled off following a heavy tackle.

Substitute Danny Ramsden took over the stand off role and the visitors were fortunate to escape when scrum half Andy Robinson at last got his kicking radar on course, but wingman James Dewhurst was hauled down by the scrambling defence after collecting the ball.

Ovenden were recalled for a forward pass when clear and Bowling suffered a similar fate when centre Tim Sutcliffe was denied after crossing in the corner.

Both sides seemed intent on bashing the living daylights out of each other but when the ball was at last given some air it was the visitors who opened the scoring.

Stand off Danny Jones spotted a gap on the last tackle and when his kick hit the knee of full back Lee Innes he gathered the rebound to dive over.

His conversion attempt sailed wide and Bowling roared back downfield, only to see loose forward Ricky Helliwell fail centimetres short when he stretched full length in a valiant effort to reach the chalk, and a relieved Ovenden went into the sheds 4-0 up.

Bowling declined a penalty attempt in front of the posts in favour of the tap-and-run. It broke down but they stuck to the task and Sutcliffe was rewarded for his persistence when he charged onto a short pass and glided past Fawcett in a thrilling run to the corner flag.

Innes missed the extras and the scores were level at 4-4.

Ovenden responded with the best try of the match. Centre Richard Pearson's electrifying pace came to the fore when he cut inside from 50 metres out and sped around Innes to plant the ball at the posts to leave forward Chris Hartley the simple extra two.

Wingman Ryan Smith should have accepted a golden chance as West's searched once again for the equaliser and it was left to Sutcliffe to supply the goods when he coasted between two hesitant defenders. Innes added a superb touchline conversion and it was game on at 10-10.

The winner was a controversial affair when, with four minutes to go, wingman Matt Short sprinted down the touchline with the crowd howling for a forward pass.

Referee Paul Gill was up with the play however and pointed firmly to the spot to put Ovenden into the hat for the third-round draw.