BRADFORD & Bingley slipped to a third consecutive defeat, 24-17 at home to Driffield, which sees them drop to seventh in North One East.

The game went right to the wire and was won right at the death when the visitors' full back galloped on a 50-metre run straight up the middle of the field.

He was hauled to the ground five metres short but Driffield recycled quickly and their loose head prop was able to flop over the line for the crucial score.

A draw would possibly have been a score the home side would have settled for, as they rarely looked like punching a decisive hole through the middle or on the overlap.

Driffield looked the brighter in the opening quarter but it was the Bees who opened the scoring on 24 minutes as second row man, Kati Tuipolotu, bashed his way to the whitewash.

Lance Taylor slotted the extras, but no sooner had the ball been returned to B&B territory, than Driffield had managed to kick a penalty.

The Bees were soon back on the offensive but a wayward pass ended up costing them a converted try, meaning the sides turned round with the score at 10-7 to the visitors.

A B&B penalty, slotted by Taylor, opened the second half scoring and while the home side tried to bludgeon the Driffield defence into submission, the visitors countered with some excellent movement right along their backline.

Their enterprise was rewarded as they skipped through for a converted score to make it 17-10 in their favour.

The Wagon Laners were once more galvanised into action and from one charge forward it appeared Tuipolotu may have just reached the whitewash.

There was an almighty thud as the ball was slapped down onto the line by the big second rower but the referee deemed the ball had been knocked on, with Driffield awarded a scrum.

Despite that setback, the Bees continued to grind out excellent field position and set up ruck after ruck in the shadow of the posts.

Eventually the power game prevailed and Heimuli Taufa got the try which levelled the game, after Taylor again improved the score.

With around five minutes left on the watch, it was clear that the next score would win the game.

The Wagon Laners were obviously expected to keep the ball in tight, where Driffield looked the more likely to give it some width.

The Bees then gifted their visitors possession with a loose kick up the middle of the field, which was gathered by the full back haring on to the kick.

Within fifteen seconds, his side were celebrating that decisive score at the Saltaire end of the ground, with the win lifting Driffield to the top of the North One East pile.