Chester 17, Bradford & Bingley 26

Bradford & Bingley opened the second half of their SSE National League Three North campaign yesterday with an excellent win at second-placed Chester.

The Bees held the upper hand for long periods, and had the normally reliable Gavin Stead brought his kicking boots with him, Martin Whitcombe’s side would have been looking at a 40-point haul.

However, a four-try performance away from Wagon Lane, taking maximum points back across the Pennines, is a good day at the office by any measure.

Much of the Bees' good play was orchestrated by man of the match Phil Greaves, who rolled back the years to give his best performance of the season at No 10 as all of his three-quarter line got on the scoresheet.

The Bees began brightly with Richard Tafa underlining his good form with a score on two minutes but yet again the Bees' early good work was nearly derailed by an interception try - the sixth they have conceded this season - as Chester’s Barry Holmes latched on to the wayward pass and galloped 70 metres for the score.

Liam McGovern improved the score and then exchanged penalties with Stead to leave the scores at 10-8 with a quarter of the game played.

The Bees were sent further into arrears on 24 minutes as second-rower Tom Gregory dotted down.

With McGovern adding two points, it was 17-8 and the Bees' bright opening was looking to be in vain.

Stead then brought his side right back into the game as he gathered a kick from Phil Greaves which bounced awkwardly to wrong-foot the Chester defence.

Stead couldnt improve the score, and it was 17-13 as the sides turned round.

Five minutes into the second half, Stead pulled his side to within a point with a penalty, but then missed two further chances to steal the lead as the Bees pack maintained pressure and Greaves kept the Chester backline busy with some booming territorial kicks which kept field position in his side’s favour.

As the hour mark came up, the Bees were finally rewarded for their efforts as Giles Hetherington popped up from the left wing to cross the whitewash.

The four-point lead was not enough to quell any nerves as Chester were more than capable off picking of a score, and it was not until the clock ticked on to the 77th minute that the Bees could improve their lead as Steve Brimacombe rounded off the scoring with a thoroughly deserved five-pointer.

Things don't get any easier for Whitcombe’s men as they entertain leaders Darlington Mowden Park next Saturday.