London Scottish 22 Yorkshire Carnegie 20: Redpath bemoans familiar failings as Lydon strikes killer blow

Carnegie led 20-8 but conceded two late tries and saw their hopes of at least hanging on for a share of the spoils thwarted when Peter Lydon converted London Scottish’s second try with the last kick of the game.

“It is very disappointing, we got ourselves into a position to win the game and we did not close out the match,” said head coach Bryan Redpath.

“There have been occasions when we have lost games this season for the same reason and we have to find a way through that issue.”

Scottish led 8-0 after a scrappy opening, with Robbie Ferguson releasing Lydon to score down the wing after he had earlier scored a penalty.

Carnegie’s catch-and-drive produced a response through a penalty try that saw Tinus du Plessis sin-binned for Scottish, with Kevin Sinfield’s conversion bringing them to within a point at the break.

Another lineout assault resulted in a try for Charlie Beech, and a conversion plus two penalties from Sinfield appeared to put Carnegie in control.

Scottish responded from a lineout drive of their own with Mark Bright scoring with seven minutes to go. Lydon’s conversion made it a one-score game.

Carnegie lost Ryan Burrows to the sin bin and after winning a scrum in the final minute, Jason Harries scored in the corner.

Lydon held his nerve to snatch the victory for the hosts.

Carnegie centre Pete Lucock said: “We know what we need to do. We controlled the game for long periods but did not see out the win. We have got Cornish Pirates next week and they are always tough so we need to bounce back quickly.”

ROUND-UP

Morley returned to winning ways in North 1 East with an assured 14-7 victory at fellow promotion chasers Alnwick.

The game pitched the fourth-placed hosts against their second-placed visitors just a week after the Maroons had suffered a loss at third-placed West Hartlepool.

However, if there was any sense of anxiety in the Morley ranks it didn’t show as they controlled the game for long periods in blustery conditions.

By half-time the Maroons were 6-0 ahead through a pair of penalties by skipper Mark Chester. That advantage was extended to 11-0 eight minutes into the second half when left winger Iain Fin got away to score in the corner.

Alnwick threatened a fight-back going into the final quarter and pulled back a converted try, but Morley duly shut the game down after that and ensured victory with a third kick by Chester 13 minutes from time.

Otley needed a late penalty to secure a bonus point from their 22-16 defeat at struggling Sale in National 2 North.

The home side were in dominant mood in the first half, setting up a 10-0 lead from a converted try and a kick on the stroke of half-time. Otley hit back with an immediate answer from centre Neil Chivers, only for Sale to cancel out the score with five points of their own from a rolling maul.

A penalty by fly-half Josh Cruise kept Otley in the game but good pressure from the hosts told and a third try took the advantage to 14 points. A strong finish saw Otley show their character. They pulled back a try when flanker James Wood crossed the line and Depledge kicked a penalty with the clock in the red to ensure his men did not go home empty handed.

Harrogate and hosts Huddersfield deserve praise for the quality of rugby they served up between them on a gluepot pitch.

Harrogate’s domination of the set-pieces proved decisive in securing their 22-9 victory.

Callum Irvine scored the game’s only try and landed a drop goal, while Lewis Minikin added penalty and conversion points with the boot.

Wharfedale put up a brave show at Darlington Mowden Park in National League 1, but were eventually squeezed out 36-26 by the competent mid-tablers.