Bradford & Bingley 24, Stockton 32; by Bill Marshall.

The slender carrot of second place in Thwaites North Division One proved insufficient an incentive for Bradford and Bingley.

They led 24-0 after 28 minutes, but were then overhauled by 32 straight points from relegation-threatened Stockton.

"I hate losing," said Bees' No 8 Howard Greenwood. "We had a lack of concentration and a lack of desire.

"When we were 24-0 up we thought we had the game won against a side that showed 100 per cent commitment to avoiding relegation.

"And injuries are going to be a key factor in the last three league games - it will be quite interesting to see who plays scrum half."

That comment was made because Ben Greaves again dislocated his shoulder in the closing minutes.

He will be out for the rest of the season, as is left winger Jeremy Marr (torn ligaments), and flanker Mark Thomas' ankle is looking none too clever either.

Lock Ben Grange (back) also left the field injured, but it is hoped that hooker Peter Scott (bruised knee-bone) and full back mark Coultas (knee) will be fit to return in next Saturday's trip to Wigton.

Bees coach Colin Hay was as puzzled by his own team's performance as he was by Stock-ton's revival.

"What is it with you lads?" he said to the visitors not long after the final whistle.

"You play like a bunch of losers for the first half and like men possessed for the second. You really called my bluff."

But unfortunately the half-time words of Hay and Bees skipper Richard Petyt about Stockton's powers of recovery went unheeded.

Stockton, who need to finish fourth-from-bottom to avoid the drop, trailed 20-0 at Winnington Park the previous weekend and won 26-23.

And they had also been 15-0 behind at Wigton but led 19-15, only to concede a try.

The spring sunshine and the firm ground seemed made for the Bees, although both sides were under-strength as the long season began to take its toll.

Lock Andy Woodhead, forced into action in a left wing starting berth, started brightly with some crunching tackles.

And, after a scare when visiting fly half Dave Richardson hacked the ball dead in a Stock-ton attack, the Bees were soon ahead.

Greaves threw the Stockton defence off-balance and strolled through for an early try, and Greenwood was driven over by the pack.

And when centre Tim Mar-low's delightfully delayed pass put in Andy Woodhead for the third try, Inman converting all three and adding a penalty, everything looked set fair for a crunching home win.

But Stockton showed enough in the closing ten minutes of the half to sound a clear warning, and they proved unstoppable in the second half, proving themselves The Real McCoys (their sponsors).

Veteran centre Dave Cooke, having squandered one chance on the right when he held on to the ball with a two-man overlap, then scored on the left, and Stockton could have scored again before the 'oranges.'

The tide had turned, however, and there was no stopping it, Richardson scoring early in the second half after a Bees knock-on, right winger Simon Crozier reducing the margin to nine points in the 55th minute with their third try.

No 8 Alan brown and replacement front-row forward Jeff Waterfield added further tries, both converted by centre Gra-ham Kell, as Stockton made it 29-24.

And Richardson's superbly- struck drop goal on the final whistle surely extinguished any hopes Bradford and Bingley have of holding on to second place ahead of Twickenham-bound Hull Ionians.

If the Bees are going to hold off Middlesbrough to clinch third place then they are going to have to show more back-bone than this.

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