Fourth-placed Blaydon had won all six of their previous home matches this season in National League Three North, scoring an impressive 261 points while conceding only 62.

Included among that desirable dozen were a 30-22 victory over fifth-placed Tynedale, a 50-8 trouncing of sixth-placed Darlington and a 74-10 thrashing of relegation-threatened Cleckheaton.

However, Bradford & Bingley spiked that 100 per cent record on Saturday, hanging on for a 21-20 victory despite having flanker Neil Spence in the sin-bin.

This victory for the second-placed Bees will certainly have been noted by leaders Nuneaton. The Midlanders are at Blaydon on Saturday, March 18. The week before that Nuneaton are at Wagon Lane, with the Bees having gone to Nuneaton on the last Saturday in February.

Bradford & Bingley travelled to the north east expecting an attritional battle with physical opposition where the game would be won in the forwards and chances for the wide men would be few and far between.

The game ran largely as forecast, with both sides locked in a tussle in midfield for long periods. However, there were some intriguing match-ups on view which kept the game from being dull with the best two open-side flankers in the division, Neil Spence and Pat Segi, squaring up to each other.

Meanwhile, in midfield, two Samoans - the Bees' Jonny Leota and Blaydon's Sua Segi - were both taking on allcomers in attack and defence.

Blaydon were missing three regulars who had preferred the ski slopes to facing the Bees but the home side certainly didn't appear to be lacking in any department as they tore into the visitors from the off.

The Bees weathered some early pressure and with their first significant foray into Blaydon terrirory in the seventh minute, they took the lead.

The scorer was the Bees' man of the match Joe Heta, who rescued a poor ball around 25 metres out, ducked under two despairing Blaydon tacklers and trotted over under the posts, leaving Tom Rhodes with the simplest of conversions.

Rhodes, voted player of the month for this division in December, was again immaculate with the boot, landing all but one of his kicks at goal.

Blaydon's Richard Windle landed a penalty four minutes later to bring the score to 7-3. Both sides then spurned

glorious chances to increase the score as players seemed to be unaware that they had team-mates in the clear waiting for a pass that never came.

Then Heta was on hand to increase the Bees' lead after 20 minutes, sneaking up the blind-side from a short yardage penalty.

Both sides then seemed to settle into the mindset that they had to keep ploughing the same midfield furrow, interspersed with some kicking 'tennis' as neither side made any significant attack on the opposition line up to half-time.

A second Windle penalty after 31 minutes was the only score of this period.

Blaydon opened the second half much the brighter and were unlucky not to score with their first possession straight from the kick-off. The Bees held out the initial Blaydon attack but remained under pressure for the next ten minutes and it was almost inevitable that the home side would score.

They were rewarded with seven points as hooker Ritson was driven over near the posts, giving Windle a simple conversion.

The Bees then took the game back to Blaydon and spent long periods camped in the home 22 without making a final telling break. However, they were awarded three penalties for Blaydon infringements that allowed the lead to be extended to 21-13 by the 66th minute.

Blaydon broke out of the Bees' stranglehold and as the game wore on they looked to be gaining the upper hand. They managed to bring the score to within a point in the 70th minute as substitute Andy Wright bullocked over from close range.

With the score 21-20 and with Spence in the bin, the Bees were under the cosh

for the final minutes but somehow they managed to repel everything Blaydon threw at them and hung on for the win.