Preston Grasshoppers 31 Tynedale 31: Late try sees Hoppers hauled back
Preston Grasshoppers’ season-long sequence of tight finishes continued when Tynedale snatched a draw with the last play of another see-saw afternoon.
They had the chance to make it three wins in a row on Saturday after Greg Smith gave them a seven-point lead, heading into stoppage time.
Six minutes later, the visitors rounded off a siege of the Hoppers line with a converted try to take home three points.
It left frustrated head coach Dan Orwin complaining: “We should have closed that one out, it was a missed opportunity again.
“We put ourselves in a strong position and are very close to being a good team, but we’re not there yet. We have got to tighten up a bit
“There was a bit of complacency, we thought we’d got it won. It would be nice to see us cut loose and build up a lead, but we’re not an 80-minute team yet.”
More injuries didn’t help, skipper Scott Richardson limping off and Isaak Gosling pulling a hamstring before half-time.
There was also confusion over referee Sam Yates’ adjudication of high tackles, with a yellow card for each side but other glaring examples earning no more than a penalty.
It took 17 minutes to break the deadlock, Tynedale getting the first points through a dynamic attack from their own half rounded off by winger Seamus Hutton.
Josh Leslie converted but Hoppers hit straight back with Harry Holden’s eighth try of the campaign from a lineout drive.
Smith added a penalty but, with Dec Norrington in the sinbin, Tynedale regained the lead when Ben Bell drove over and Leslie converted.
Another Smith penalty made it 14-11 at half-time, after which Hoppers introduced Sale loanee Alfie Longstaff to the front row.
He made an immediate impact with a try from a lineout, converted by Smith.
The lead changed hands four more times, with unconverted Tynedale tries from Will Roberts and Joe Beatty.
In response, Smith kicked two penalties and converted a touchdown by Jake Maher after slick Hoppers handling.
The second of those penalties looked to have sealed it for the home side, but they were unable to resist a late surge.
That ended with Ben Haigh scoring by the posts, giving Leslie a comfortable conversion to pocket the draw.