BRADFORD Salem will feel that lady luck has not been on their side so far this season as, once again, they managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, going down 13-8 to Beverley.

Salem were seeking a third successive home win in Yorkshire One after overcoming Pontefract and Old Rishworthians in December.

They were also looking for a hat-trick of home wins over Beverley after beating them 45-18 and 21-16 in their two previous meetings at Shay Lane.

However, Salem knew they would have their work cut out to extend this winning sequence after suffering a crushing 55-5 defeat at Beverley's Beaver Park earlier in the season.

With the fog just starting to lift as play got underway, Salem had much the better of the early exchanges and they came close to taking an early lead only for flanker Morgan Mirzaali to be held up over the line.

Minutes later, Beverley were penalised inside their own 22 and a quick-tap by scrum-half Jamie Simpson got Salem to within inches of the opposition try-line.

The Bradford side then recycled possession, allowing centre Chris Clough to power his way over the whitewash to put the hosts 5-0 up after 8 minutes.

To make matters worse for the visitors, second-rower Louis Frear picked up a nasty injury when trying to stop Clough and was carried off the pitch.

In spite of this setback, it was soon Beverley's turn to exert some pressure and it needed an excellent tackle by debutant winger Caleb McConville to keep the visitors at bay.

However, Salem were then penalised for pulling down at a catch and drive and Beverley fly-half Phil Duboulay took the points on offer to cut the deficit to 5-3.

Salem centre and skipper Jake Green then had an opportunity to extend his side's advantage but he dragged his penalty attempt wide of the uprights, meaning Salem had to be content with a slender two point lead at the break.

Within a minute of the restart, referee Laurence Pearson had little option but to red card Beverley No.8 Mike Melhuish for a high shot on replacement Calum Stocks.

But Pearson also did not take kindly to the language Clough directed at Melhuish after the incident and he sent the Salem man to the sin-bin for 10 minutes as a result.

With the hosts also down to 14, Beverley started to play a more expansive game and it was just the final pass which let them down as they moved the ball out wide.

With Clough's 10 minutes in the bin almost up, Beverley managed to keep possession for multiple phases and then swift handling in the backs gave right winger Jacob Baggs just enough space to score in the corner.

Duboulay landed a magnificent conversion from the touchline to give the visitors a 10-5 lead.

Despite being a man down, Beverley continued to press and when Salem second-rower Fin Southcott was guilty of a no arms tackle, Duboulay's second successful penalty extended the visitors' advantage to 13-5.

Salem hit back courtesy of a Green penalty to reduce the arrears to 13-8 with 15 minutes remaining.

However, Duboulay's superior kicking from hand, which included a number of 50:22s, enabled Beverley to control the game in the closing stages.

Nevertheless, Salem still had one last chance to either draw or win the game when Simpson broke clear from a midfield scrum in the final play.

Simpson, though, elected to kick ahead rather than look for support and unfortunately, Beverley won the ensuing chase, before booting the ball dead to close out a hard-earned victory.

Up in North One East, Bradford & Bingley were hammered 82-0 at home to Malton & Norton, while Cleckheaton were beaten 21-17 in a thrilling contest against Ilkley.

Finally, in Yorkshire Three, Wibsey lost a low-scoring encounter, going down 12-5 to Burley.