Yorkshire Division Three: Harrogate Pythons 19 Baildon 17

FOR the ninth time this season, Baildon lost a league match by seven points or less, and victory in a few of these would have left them in mid-table instead of battling relegation.

Thanks to the Aire-Wharfe Cup, new coach Andy Pollard had one training session with the Baildon team prior to this fixture, but they had trained with good numbers, arrived in high spirits and started with intensity.

They also put early points on the bard when Matty Robinson charged down a kick and gathered the ricochet to score a try which JJ O'Connell converted.

However, a converted try put Pythons level, and they capitalised on a loose pass to add an unconverted try. The 12-7 lead was short-lived, though, as Rhys Holland won turnover ball and replacement Hayden Lister scored in the left-hand corner to make the half-time score level.

Prop Lewis Morgan then put the visitors in front again with a try but they could not get any further ahead against hosts who were looking frail, despite Pythons having a man sin-binned for tackling Luke Strauss without the ball 40 yards out.

Strauss was later held up inches short, Matty Dixon touched down for a try, only for the referee to miss the grounding, and Pythons twice escaped a sin-binning as the referee could not identify the culprit, the second time when O'Connell was tripped on the way to the line.

To make matters worse, O'Connell then missed the kick at goal, and Pythons replied with a 40-metre try by their winger, which was converted to give them a 19-17 lead.

Sam Simons then suffered a back injury after being taken out in the air at a line-out, and Phil Wilson was yellow carded for his part in the subsequent brawl as Pythons hung on for victory, despite a big improvement in a week from the visitors.