'Impressive' Harrogate Pythons RUFC undone by Pocklington RUFC's late flurry of tries

Saul Adshead dives over to register the first of his two tries during Harrogate Pythons' Yorkshire One clash with Pocklington. Picture: SubmittedSaul Adshead dives over to register the first of his two tries during Harrogate Pythons' Yorkshire One clash with Pocklington. Picture: Submitted
Saul Adshead dives over to register the first of his two tries during Harrogate Pythons' Yorkshire One clash with Pocklington. Picture: Submitted
Harrogate Pythons RUFC were unable to convert a half-time lead into a victory when they entertained high-flying Pocklington on Saturday afternoon.

The visitors, whose only two defeats this term have come against top-of-the-table North Ribblesdale, needed a flurry of late scores to break the resistance of the men from the Jim Saynor Ground, eventually running out 39-17 winners.

And Pythons coach John Liley said he was thrilled with his players’ efforts.

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“We put in a sterling performance against second in the league, and, just as was the case in the reverse fixture, were still in with a chance of causing an upset with 15 minutes of the game remaining,” he said.

"Our first-half performance was impressive and demonstrated the ability that this squad possesses.

“In the second half, we absorbed everything that Pocklington threw at us, and it was only in the final 15 minutes that the game drifted away.

"As a coaching staff, we are immensely proud of the effort that the lads put in.”

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Trailing 7-0 after 10 minutes, Natsuki Barclay and Jack Thompson-Hall combined to release Saul Adshead, who rounded one defender, before chipping the ball over another on his way over the try-line.

Ben Pryor added the extras to level things up, then kicked a penalty to make it 10-7.

Then, after Sam Rowntree and Jordan Payne were both stopped just short, Pryor’s long pass found Adshead, who bagged his second try.

Pryor again booted over the extras to make it 17-7, however the gap was narrowed to two points by the interval and Pocklington’s strong finish eventually saw them over the line.

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