FINCHES OUT OF LUCK IN NARROW DEFEAT

Workington Finches can count themselves extremely unlucky as they went down 14 - 5 to Harrogate 2nds in a close, hard fought league encounter in North Yorkshire.

After starting the match by dominating their opponent's half, the Finches were sucker punched on 6 minutes when Harrogate broke the deadlock as Chloe Brocklebank produced a powerful sprint to breeze home under the posts for a converted try.

Workington gradually stepped up a gear and with centres Elsa Whelan and Lauren Coulson as well as forward Rachael Cairns frequently in the thick of the action, they pressed hard in search of a try but were pushed back by Harrogate's resilient defence. Indeed, most of the remainder of the first half was dominated by defence, as both sides produced a masterclass in rearguard action and disciplined scrummaging.

The second half began brightly for Workington as they proceeded to create a string of dangerous inroads and on 50 minutes Sharon Dunne thought that she had scored in the corner, only for it to be ruled out due to a forward pass in the build up. Then a few minutes later, captain Charlotte Cammack was tackled painfully close with the tryline at her mercy.

Several charging scrums deep in Harrogate territory also saw the Finches fall just short of the whitewash - clearly the hosts were hanging on for dear life to their lead.

But then on the hour, a high tackle from Hannah Thornbery saw her yellow carded and sin binned for 10 minutes and Harrogate made the extra woman count five minutes later when after winning a scrum in their own half, Brocklebank again delivered a lightning solo run to flatten the Finches with another brilliant try, which was again converted.

With the greatest respect, the referee was at times very fastidious with decisions made during the course of the match and both sides - especially Workington - can lay claim to some harsh calls made against them.

After serving her punishment, Thornbery returned to the action and the Finches regained their momentum with Whelan and Coulson again being a collective menace and five minutes from time, Workington finally opened their account when another charging scrum paid off as Cammack broke free to go over for an unconverted try. But this was nothing more than a consolation as Harrogate closed out the game.

Workington now lie sixth in North 2 West and will hope to return to winning ways this Sunday when they host Chester Devas at The Ellis.

By John Hastings @ The Stratstone Stadium.