Harrogate Pythons RUFC beaten in 'game of two halves' at Wath Upon Dearne RUFC
Harrogate Pythons RUFC came off second best in a “game of two halves” at Wath Upon Dearne.
The men from the Jim Saynor Ground took a narrow lead into the interval following a strong opening period, but conceded four tries after the resumption on their way to a 41-16 defeat.
And 1st XV manager Will Clough was left to wonder what might have been had the visitors managed to put more points on the board while they were on top.
“It was a game of two halves, really,” he said. “It was disappointing to go in at half-time only three points ahead having managed the game so well and been so dominant for large parts of the first 40.
"I feel like we deserved better and, on another day, the score-line could have looked very different.
“We then struggled to assert ourselves in the second half and just couldn’t get a foothold in the match.
“We got dragged into a slugfest against a very physical team on a heavy pitch and the game just got away from us.”
The Pythons started Saturday’s contest against their high-flying hosts brightly and were on the front foot during the early exchanges.
They were rewarded for their efforts when they won a penalty that was kicked by Ben Pryor, though Wath soon responded and levelled the scores.
‘Gate continued to press and, having been held up just short of the try-line, were awarded another penalty, which Pryor again landed.
They then made it across the whitewash for the first time in the contest after good work from Will Milnes and Jack Whiting led to Freddie Abrahams offloading to Max Sharp, who crashed over to crash over the line.
Pryor added the extras two points to make it 13-3 on 35 minutes, though Wath managed to bag a converted try of their own on the stroke of half time.
The second period began with the hosts booting over a penalty to level things up, and another converted try quickly followed, which edged them ahead.
Pryor’s penalty reduced the gap to 20-16, but that was as good as it was to get for the Pythons.
With the light fading and the two sides becoming indistinguishable in the mud, Wath’s experienced and powerful pack took control of the last 10 minutes of the game, and three more touchdowns put a considerable gloss on the final score.
Defeat leaves the Pythons ninth in the Yorkshire One standings ahead of this Saturday’s home showdown with a Yarnbury team who have given a good account of themselves thus far following their promotion from Yorkshire Two at the end of last term.