Darlington Mowden Park 19 Rosslyn Park 20

THERE may be some dull starts at the Northern Echo Arena, but the dramatic climaxes just keep on coming.

After the draw against Coventry and two-point win against Ampthill, Mowden left themselves with just too much to do this time.

It was very much a repeat performance as they were again outgunned in the tight, but their spirit and tenacity kept them afloat.

At 20-7 down just after half-time there seemed no way back, but they stepped it up over the next 20 minutes then mounted another storming finish.

It was helped by the introduction of Adam Radwan on the left wing as the youngster brought a touch of dash to a game marred by too much ping-pong kicking. Nor was the flow helped by the referee.

Radwan's kick and chase to the left corner saw him taken out by former Mowden full back Henry Robinson, who was sin-binned, and two minutes later a deft pass from fellow replacement Rory Duff put Radwan over.

Josh Bragman was wide with the conversion from the left touchline, so with two scores still needed they opted to go for goal when awarded a penalty two minutes from time.

Bragman hit the left upright, but Rosslyn Park fumbled the rebound, allowing Mowden to keep the pressure on.

The visitors kept them out for three crucial minutes until, for thje third successive week, Jamie Barnard touched down on the end of a Bragman cross-kick.

The successful conversion left the fly half to rue his misses, which included a 15th-minute penalty he would normally expect to land.

It was remarkable that Mowden got so close considering that three absentees in the front five left their scrum in disarray. Among them was Talite Vaioleti, who has had an excellent season but has now taken a job as a bus driver. Whether Mowden will have to say “Arriva derci” to him remains to be seen.

The first ten minutes seemed to consist almost entirely of three scrums, which took the usual age to set, and a penalty attempt by the visitors, which also took an eternity.

Mowden were penalised at two of those scrums and were probably fortunate when, after a kick to the corner, Rosslyn Park's throw-in was judged not straight.

It was not as crooked as the feed into the ensuing scrum by Mowden's Maia Gibbs, but referees continue to ignore this indiscretion while nit-picking about everything else.

An excellent kick by Robinson forced Mowden to concede a line-out 15 metres out, and this time Rosslyn Park drove over for a converted try.

Mowden drew level when hooker Simon Uzokwe forced his way through two tackles near the posts following a strong run by left-winger Shaun McCartney.

When Rosslyn Park attempted another catch-and-drive, prop Darren Fearn was sin-binned for going in from the side.

The visitors kicked the penalty and when awarded another five metres out they opted for a scrum and the inevitable pushover was converted for a 17-7 half-time lead.

After a fracas midway through the second half the referee surprisingly singled out Joe Craggs for a yellow card, but when Robinson followed him to the bin shortly afterwards it signalled a turning point.

It came just too late, however, for Mowden to extend their four-game unbeaten run.