WEST Bowling’s desire to improve on last season’s runners-up spot in the Pennine President's Cup came to a grinding halt in the mud and driving rain in their second-round tie at Sharlston Rovers.

Bowling started the game in great style, with a number of sweeping attacks that should have borne fruit, but a lack of composure, plus poor final-phase options, led to the chances being squandered.

The breakthrough came on the 20-minute mark when hooker Danny Halmshaw worked the blindside to find wingman Jake Green, who was in acres of space and went over in the corner.

West’s stand-off Liam Coe and full back Max Trueman then combined to send centre Jack Milburn to the whitewash to establish an 8-0 lead, which was scant reward for all their supremacy.

However, a flurry of indiscipline allowed Sharlston to set up field position for a converted try, and they then added a penalty on the stroke of half- time to level the score at 8-8.

The second stanza was a war of attrition, with Rovers' ability to control the play in rapidly-deteriorating conditions giving them the edge.

The hosts looked to be breezing through when they established a 14-8 advantage on the hour, and a smart drop goal added to the total shortly after.

Bowling, with their three-musketeer packmen Ryan Patchett, Richard Lumb and Chris Anderson leading the charge, brought the match back into the balance when Green showed his pace to reach the chalk, leaving Coe to add the extras.

At 15-14 with just three minutes to go, it was all to play for, but when West’s failed to field the ball on the restart, Rovers made the game safe with a last-gasp effort to triumph 19-14.

In Pennine League Division Two, Wyke’s lack of concentration in the final stages cost them the spoils 15-14 at Woodhouse Warriors.

The black and whites' prop forward Ian Wormald kept his impressive try-scoring sequence going when he equalised an early home score, and they hit the front at 12-6 when substitute Mark Goodwin sent packman Jonny Waddington racing to the line.

The hosts stuck to their task to ensure a 13-12 interval lead but Wyke, led by the belligerent old warrior Simon Owen, tackled like demons to ensure defensive deadlock, and gained their reward when Brad Ellis slotted a penalty from 20 metres out.

It looked curtains for the Warriors but they took a short restart to regain possession and then slotted over the winner when Wyke were caught holding down in the tackle.

Wyke coach Warren Pitman said: “This is the third game we have lost by messing up a kick-off. We worked really hard but we just can’t seem to finish a team off at the moment.”

Owen was man of the match, closely followed by Scott Watson, Shaun Godfrey and Phil Oliver.