SSE North One East: Wheatley Hills 27 Bradford & Bingley 25

THE DEFINING moment of this closely-fought contest came in the 74th minute when home full back Johnny Woodcock stepped up to land a huge penalty kick from over 45 metres out to reclaim the lead for his side.

Bradford & Bingley had been the better team for long periods and were holding on to a one-point advantage as the home forwards looked out on their feet.

However, for all their possession, the Bees could not quite break through to get a score which would have put some distance between the sides.

The game was won for the home side in the first quarter, when the Wheatley Hills pack were in the ascendancy and the Bees were pinned in their own 22 for long periods.

After 23 minutes, the home side had run in a third try and there looked to be no way back for the visitors.

The home side scored on four minutes, having won a scrum against the head and recycled the ball quickly to drive over out wide on the left.

Ten minutes later the second score arrived as skipper Ryan Cresswell charged to the line, having benefited from at least one forward pass in the build-up to the score.

The pressure continued and Jamie Webb came charging off the left wing for a third try, with the Bees defence seemingly unable to hold out the home pack.

Richard Scull had tacked on a couple of penalties for the Bees but a scoreline of 21-6 to Wheatley Hills was a fair reflection of the way the game was going.

However, as the game wore on it appeared that the Bees were not content to be second best.

With the pack now starting to gain parity in the close exchanges, there appeared to be grounds for optimism as the clock ticked past the half-hour. The Bees then won a scrum against the head in the middle of the pitch and No 8 Greg Whately showed an admirable turn of pace to gallop to the posts for a five-pointer which Scull improved.

Brett Mitchell and Harry Jeffrey both began to batter down the home defence and, with Stuart Dixon and Richard Tafa starting to make gains through the midfield, the latter moments of the first half were all about the Bees.

Just before half-time, Tafa was able to blast through to dot down to the left of the uprights but, with Scull's conversion hooked wide, it was 21-18 as the sides turned round.

The second half did not begin well with for the visitors as Woodcock was able to stretch the home advantage by three almost immediately.

The Bees were soon on the front foot, though, and forced Wheatley Hills back into their own territory.

A score was not immediately forthcoming, although the Bees retained possession for most of the next ten minutes.

Finally, as the ball was worked from right to left near the posts, Shaun Driver was able to wriggle over near the posts. Scull made no mistake this time and it was 25-24 to the Bees with nearly half an hour remaining.

Both sides had half-chances to break the deadlock but the Bees played too much rugby in their own half, allowing the home side to defend deeply and absorb a number of attacks from backs and forwards.

The power in the Wheatley Hills forwards seemed to have now gone and it seemed unlikely that the home backline could fashion a scoring opportunity from distance. So it came down to Woodcock's shot at the sticks in the final six minutes to decide the game.