Darlington 22 Bradford & Bingley 30

A 75th-minute penalty from Bradford & Bingley skipper Tom Rhodes confirmed him as the leading points scorer in National League Three North.

Ten minutes earlier, Darlington's Alan Brown flopped over the Bees line for a remarkable 27th try of the campaign.

On the Bees side, Joe Heta, Marcus Dracup and Barry Clark all caught the eye but generally it looked a game too far at the end of a long, tough season as the sides turned round at 5-5 after a very poor opening 40 minutes.

Darlington took the lead in the 25th minute when Lee Davis scrambled past Bees full back Tim Bennett to retrieve a grubbed kick which had bobbled into the dead-ball area.

The Bees replied on the stroke of half- time when a burst from Rob Padgett set up Joe Simpson. They took the lead eight minutes into the period when Marcus Dracup jinked round two Darlington men to put himself clear on the home 22. As the home full back came to tackle him, Dracup slipped the ball inside for Heta to trot over, Rhodes adding the extra points.

Five minutes later a Clark try increased the visitors' lead to 17-5 and, as the hour mark approached, Dracup sprinted clear up the blindside of a maul 20 metres out and again fed Heta for the score.

Tries by Brown and Davis and a pushover try were only countered by a Rhodes penalty but scorer Dracup and Heta combined again for the final try.