Bradford & Bingley 24, West Park St Helens 25

Whoever is writing the scripts for the Bees this season has clearly run out of ideas.

For the third week in a row they lost to a score which was the final play of the game. The only slight narrative twist was that this week the coup de grace came in the seventh minute of time added on, four minutes earlier than last week at Leicester.

For the fifth time this season the Bees were also forced to play 20 minutes a man light. And, as has happened on all previous occasions, West Park capitalised on their numerical advantage to run in two scores during that period.

The game began in the worst possible fashion for the home side as woeful defence allowed the Stephen Briers to score almost straight from the kick-off.

The Bees hit back when Tom Rhodes and Stuart Dixon combined and a neat little kick-and-chase saw Dixon dive in for the score.

Despite facing an increasingly strong wind, West Park refused to be pinned down and Matt Williams darted in at the corner following slick handling.

With Andrew Soutar adding the extras, the Bees were now 12-5 down but Tom Rhodes narrowed the gap with a penalty.

Rhodes then skipped through to the right of the posts, adding the conversion to put his side in front.

Bradford's back line began to throw the ball around to some effect but they only managed to increase their lead with two penalties from Rhodes.

A major turning point came on 53 minutes when Rhodes was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle.

Almost as soon as the no 10 reached the touchline, West Park's Soutar slotted a penalty and then popped a delightful chip into the arms of Williams for a score.

The hosts were 21-20 ahead and Rhodes returned from his spell in the cooler to extend the lead with 15 minutes on the clock.

But the momentum swung in favour of West Park and the Bees had to mount a herculean defensive effort as their visitors threw everything at them.

With a now bitter and freezing wind pinning them back in their 22, it looked as if they would hold on.

But with Rob Padgett in the bin, prop Liam McCloughlin barged through the narrowest of gaps in the corner to claim the winning score.