Harrogate Pythons RUFC suffer third straight defeat, but 'deserved more' from Wensleydale RUFC clash

Harry Parrish on his way to scoring the second of his two tries during Harrogate Pythons' home defeat to Wensleydale. Picture: Submitted

Harrogate Pythons RUFC’s wait for their first-ever Yorkshire One victory goes on after they suffered a 36-24 home defeat to Wensleydale.

Saturday saw the two teams who were promoted from Yorkshire Two together go head-to-head at Station View, with Dan Bird’s men finishing up on the wrong side of a competitive contest for the third week in succession.

And Pythons coach Roy Mackay felt that the home side’s performance warranted them finishing the game with at least something to show for their efforts.

"We deserved something more for our efforts, but the quality of teams in Yorkshire One punish mistakes more severely and we need to be consistent for the whole 80 minutes,” he said.

“Our set-piece work was much improved compared to previous encounters, with some of the handling and defensive work excellent. However, the last 10 minutes and two yellow cards proved to be our downfall.

"We need to work on our decision-making and ball retention in these close matches to ensure a positive result is achieved.

"But, I am very confident that once we get that first win, we will settle.”

The Pythons made the perfect start to the match, taking a 7-0 lead almost straight from kick-off following some slick backs play.

Jed Carr released Sam Considine, and he broke through midfield before passing to Harry Parrish, who outpaced the visiting defence to score under the posts.

Will Clough added the extras, but Dale were quickly back on the offensive, using their effective driving maul well, and leveling matters on 10 minutes from a line-out on the five-metre line.

Moments later, the Pythons scrummaged well, allowing Will Clough to feed Carr, whose perfectly-timed pass enabled Parrish to split the defence and score his second next to the posts. Clough converted once again for 14-7.

Keeping the pressure on, ‘Gate then won a penalty for offside and Clough dissected the uprights to make it 17-7 in the 20th minute.

Wensleydale crossed the whitewash to reduce the deficit to 17-12 before half-time and then went over again 10 minutes into the second period to edge ahead for the first time in the contest.

‘Gate responded well, however, and when Parrish was held up just short of the try-line, Clough found Sam Rowntree, who powered over to put his side 24-19 up.

The last 10 minutes saw Wensleydale reclaim the ascendancy with a converted try, before two yellow cards left the Pythons down to 13 men as their visitors added a penalty and a penalty try to wrap things up.