Hope in defeat for Park

Apart from the boost to morale from a performance which could easily have produced a shock win, Mowden's 13-8 defeat at Bradford and Bingley at least earned a bonus point and they are only one point behind Rugby with a game in hand.

The next two league programmes will go a long way towards sorting things out. Next week's key games are: Mowden v Tynedale, Blaydon v Darlington, Rugby v Dudley Kingswinford, and on April 2 it's Darlington v Rugby, Cleckheaton v Mowden, Blaydon v Bedford.

Mowden matched third-placed Bradford and could have won had they enjoyed better luck when they twice ran penalties ten metres from the posts.

The first time they were stopped three metres short then lost a scrum on their own put-in, and the second time flanker Jason Smithson got over but the referee said he had not taken the penalty through the mark.

"That proved you get kicked when you're down," said team secretary Jim Dyson, who felt that in the first instance Bradford made no attempt to retire ten metres.

That made it all the more galling when the hosts scored the try which put them ahead for the first time with eight minutes left. They also went for a quick penalty close to the line and even though they got over, lock Ian Robinson was sin-binned for trying to prevent the try. It was his third yellow card in recent weeks and left Mowden with 14 men for the rest of the game.

They also had Kelekolio Paino sin-binned just before half-time after a general warning that the next player penalised would be off.

But Mowden hung on to their early 5-0 lead, which stemmed from seven or eight phases of recycling with good handling finally sending winger Michael Breen over.

After 25 minutes they lost two players at the same time. With lock Naude Pretorius down with a dislocated shoulder play went on and Gareth Kerr raced up the wing, only to pull a muscle.

The pack wasn't weakened as Paino switched from No 6 to lock, with Matt Holmes going on to do a good job in the back row, while Michael Georgiou went on at inside centre.

Smithson's disallowed try came shortly after half-time and the next time Mowden were awarded a penalty they opted to kick it, Iain Dixon putting them 8-0 ahead.

Bradford then used the wind to get on top, but they had a man sin-binned after 50 minutes and with Mowden defending well it was further 15 minutes before Bradford opened their account with a penalty.

Seven minutes later came the crucial try, which was also converted, and the hosts added a long-range penalty before missing a simpler one which would have denied Mowden the bonus point.

Darlington made hard work of winning 25-18 at home to bottom club Bedford Athletic, again falling one short of the four-try bonus point they were hoping for.

Two tries by Durham Under 20s forward Michael Taylor clinched the victory and lifted Darlington one more place to sixth from the bottom.

But they again started slowly, falling 10-0 behind in the first ten minutes, and even after turning it round they had to hang on grimly at the end.

They first put themselves under pressure by sending a 22-metre drop-out into touch on the full, and when an off-key Del Lewis missed a tackle Bedford scored a converted try after four minutes.

They added a penalty before a strong run down the middle by home winger Frankie Coulson ended with a visitor being yellow carded for killing the ball under the posts.

David Kell kicked the penalty and added the conversion to level the scores when Taylor was driven over after 37 minutes.

But home flanker Martin Howe was sin-binned near the end of the first half and Bedford scored a good try in the corner.

When they added a long-range penalty on the resumption they led 18-10, but Darlington made three changes and got back on top.

Craig Lee made a good break and off-loaded well for half back partner Rob Stewart to score from ten metres and they went ahead with eight minutes left when Taylor was driven over for another converted try.

Kell added a penalty shortly afterwards, then Bedford dominated the last five minutes without reward.

With skipper Dave Guthrie returning with his usual impact, Blaydon won 20-8 at Dudley. It was his first time on a field for five weeks and he apparently felt drained after a 20-metre rolling maul in the first minute.

But he survived the full match as, despite wind advantage, Blaydon had to work hard to stretch their 12-8 interval lead.

The opening maul produced nothing, but the next one saw the home backs come up flat so fly half Dan Clappison chipped over them and regathered to score under the posts.

Dudley kicked a penalty then a drive from a line-out ten metres out ended with prop Fatu Tulaga touching down for Blaydon.

Dudley came back strongly and winger Ian Gowland scored in the corner in first half injury time.

Blaydon had to defend well on the resumption but Clappison landed a penalty after 60 minutes.

Dudley were running everything and when they dropped the ball in midfield Blaydon kept possession through three phases and hooker Matt Hall's well-timed pass sent winger Simon Barber over from 20 metres.

Despite being reduced to 14 men by injuries, Westoe scored a last-minute try to win what should be the North Two East title decider 10-9 at Huddersfield. They are now a point ahead of their hosts with a game in hand.

Worryingly, with the Intermediate Cup final at Twickenham coming up on April 16, backs J J Boske and Kevin Wilson were both stretchered off in the second half. Two replacements were already on, and one of them, hooker Peter Tennet, dived in for the decisive try.

West Hartlepool can breathe more easily after a much-improved display produced four tries for only the second time this season in a 26-16 home win against Malton and Norton.

Lock Paul Rudd stormed over after two minutes and appeared at fly half to set up the final try for flanker Henry Tones.

Centres Peter Hodgson and Allan Milne scored the others, with David Tighe adding three conversions as West led 26-9 before Malton scored their only try late in the game.

Stockton, fifth from the bottom with three to go down, need to win at home next week to Sandal, who are one point below them after climbing above Redcar on points difference.

Sandal beat Redcar 43-17, while Stockton were denied at the death at Morpeth, losing 21-18 to a penalty two minutes from time by Matthew Jinks.

It was his third penalty and he and fellow winger Alan Rogers scored the two tries in five minutes late in the first half which saw Stockton go from 13-6 up to 18-13 down.

After 20 minutes of stalemate on the resumption they pulled level when they were awarded a penalty and opted for a scrum, from which Mark Skirving was driven over.

Stockton's first half points came from two penalties by Jeremy Good, who also converted a try by winger Richie Brown after good handling across the backs.

Durham City moved above visitors York with a 36-14 win in Durham and Northumberland Division One.

In the battle for the promotion play-off place, City trail Northern by two points with a game in hand.