IT may not have been the win they were after, but a gutsy Bradford & Bingley performance at Dronfield saw them earn their first points of the season at the 16th time of asking.

With the Bees starting the Regional Two North East season on -10 points, their punishment for fielding underage players last season without the required permissions or approvals, things have been bleak down at Wagon Lane.

They had suffered 42 league defeats in a row, a run stretching back to three years ago this month, going into Saturday's clash at Dronfield, and given they had lost the reverse fixture 38-15 in September, few probably believed they could turn things around this weekend.

But head coach Carl Paterson and his players are starting to believe, and they gave Dronfield an almighty fright.

A dramatic encounter saw the hosts edge to a thrilling 33-29 victory, but the consolation for B&B was that they earned a try bonus point and a losing bonus point too.

They now sit on -8 points, and while relegation looks certain, it was proof that this is a competitive side on its day, and one that will surely snap that horror losing streak sooner rather than later.

Bradford & Bingley may have narrowly missed out on a precious away victory, but Baildon certainly didn't in Counties Two Yorkshire.

A magnificent display saw them win 30-15 at Harrogate Pythons, knocking the hosts off top spot in the process.

The win keeps Baildon in the promotion hunt in third place, and a title triumph is not out of the equation.

They are 10 points behind the Pythons now, but with a game in hand, and 11 away from new leaders Wensleydale, who have played the same number of games as the Bradford side.

In Regional One North East, Cleckheaton's dreams of going up appear to be slipping away.

They slipped to sixth after losing 15-7 at home to York, who moved on to the same points as their hosts in the process.

In Counties One Yorkshire, mid-table Bradford Salem battled hard but lost 18-13 at home to high-flying Wetherby.

Keighley are second in the same division, but they were not in league action at the weekend, and that allowed Goole to move 10 points clear at the summit, as they thumped West Leeds 55-13.