IN A classic game of two halves, the first of which belonged to hosts Chester, Wharfedale earned a losing bonus point from a hard-fought 10-3 defeat in National League Two North.

Dale finished the match camped in Chester's 22 but they could not convert this pressure into points.

Chester opened the scoring with a penalty from Liam McGovern after eight minutes and Robbie Davidson levelled after 26 minutes.

The hosts did break the Dale defence after 30 minutes when Andrew Baston came through a couple of half-tackles to score, with McGovern's conversion giving the home side a seven-point lead at the interval.

Despite plenty of hard work, especially from the forwards, Dale could not add any points in the second half.

The wet conditions contributed to a low-scoring contest and handling errors were made by both sides.

This was a strong performance by the men in green but they have got to learn how to score tries.

The pack were outstanding, driving Chester back and winning penalties at the scrum.

Props Reece Ward and Toms Asejevs were magnificent at the set-piece, new boy Jordan Annett gave a solid performance at fly half and Joel Gill was the pick of the backs.