Wharfedale 16, Fylde 10 A dramatic last-minute corner try by winger Simon Horsfall sealed victory for Wharfedale in a tight and hard-fought cross-Pennine derby.

The win extended the Greens’ impressive recent run which has seen them accumulate five successes on the trot to put them in 11th position.

And this triumph arguably represented the best performance in this sequence.

If Wharfedale are finally finding some truer form, Fylde, though challenging at the top of the table, were a fading force compared to earlier in the season.

The fourth-placed visitors were happy to cling to a losing bonus point as the final home conversion attempt sailed wide.

Wharfedale, just like the previous week, dominated the second-half play with a completeness that totally shut their opponents out of the match.

Fylde had led 10-3 after a first half in which both sides had difficulty finding a top gear, the visitors going ahead after 17 minutes with a line-out drive corner try by hooker Jon Roddam.

Wharfedale replied with a Tom Davidson penalty after creative play had failed to utilise an overlap.

The visitors increased their lead with the one fluent move at pace either side managed in the half when full back Chris Briers finished off swift short-side passing to ground in the corner.

After the break, the Wharfedale pack took charge, subjecting Fylde to a punishing examination at the breakdown where the Greens back-row were again in explosive form.

The combative Fylde pack, intermittently destructive at the maul and neat in their close-quarters off-loading, were frequently turned over on the floor. Wharfedale were sharper at the tackle and retained possession impressively through the phases.

Soon after the break, following constant pressure, Scott Jordan wriggled free in the corner to touch down. Davidson’s touchline conversion effort sailed just wide but he added a long penalty midway through the half to give the Greens the lead and they never looked back.

With the extra encouragement of Paul Arnold’s 73rd-minute yellow card, Wharfedale completed their afternoon with their inevitable and deserved second try. Rob Baldwin’s neat interplay with Phil Woodhead at the back of a scrum sent the winger over to complete the scoring, with all four tries occurring tight in the same corner.