Tom Baxter left frustrated as close Yorkshire One contest is decided by last-gasp score

Tom Baxter said the manner of Harrogate Pythons RUFC side’s narrow Yorkshire One defeat to Wensleydale RUFC “hurt”.

The men from the Jim Saynor Ground carried an 11-5 lead into the last minute of Saturday’s contest, but having squandered numerous opportunities to put the game out of their visitors’ reach, they were punished at the death.

That 79th-minute converted try earned ‘Dale a 12-11 victory in extremely difficult playing conditions, and left the Pythons’ director of rugby to wonder what might have been.

“This was a frustrating day, on which we just didn’t adapt our game to the weather conditions,” Baxter said.

“We dominated territory and possession in the first half but we didn’t capitalise on this and left at least 15 points out there from not kicking penalties when they were on offer, or because of skill errors in key moments.

“We let this one slip and it hurts with the manner that we did, but we must not dwell too much on this.

“There are key lessons to be learned, and we must make sure we are ready to go into this week’s fixture against Yarnbury.”

With a strong wind raging, and heavy rain falling continuously, the Pythons had much the better of the first half.

But, despite them making the better start to the match, they found themselves 5-0 down on 10 minutes after Wensleydale went over for the afternoon’s opening try.

Ben Pryor then kicked two penalties in quick succession to edge the home side into a deserved lead, but although they continued to make most of the running, they failed to turn opportunities into more points.

They did eventually break through just before half-time when Joel Misseldine powered over from close range after Payne took a penalty quickly and was stopped just short of the whitewash.

With the wind at their backs after the break, Wensleydale came into the game and asked some questions of their hosts, however the Pythons defended well to keep them at bay.

However, with time almost up, the visitors managed to go under the posts and add the resulting conversion for a 12-11 advantage.

There was still time for Baxter’s troops to win a penalty that would have seen them snatch victory in the last seconds had it been kicked, though for the second time in that second half, the ball got caught in the wind and ended up landing just short.

Defeat leaves ‘Gate fifth in the Yorkshire One standings after five rounds of fixtures this term.