Wharfedale 40 Preston Grasshoppers 14: Hoppers pay the price for mistakes
A mistake-riddled performance from Preston Grasshoppers saw them suffer National Two North defeat at Wharfedale on Saturday.
Hoppers had travelled to West Yorkshire off the back of an impressive win over Billingham the week before, while their opponents had lost at Sheffield.
Wharfedale got off to a flyer though, with Jake Armstrong scoring after just four minutes.
A missed tackle from Hoppers allowed the prop to burst through before making his way over the line.
The hosts were then 14-0 up after only 10 minutes as a rolling maul ended with Dan Stockdale dotting down.
Although Hoppers started to get hold of the ball, mistakes prevented them from crossing.
The game then had a lengthy stoppage following a medical incident in the stands, meaning Hoppers had to try and regain their focus.
They did just that as Sammy Russell got them on the board, finding enough space to dive over after a long pass found him out on the wing.
However, Wharfedale hit back with a third try five minutes later.
Two excellent runs from Oli Cicognini and Joe Fawcett, as well as several missed tackles from Hoppers, saw them get up to the line.
After several attempts at the pick and drive, they eventually powered over through Armstrong.
It was Hoppers who scored the last try of the half though, when the ball found Jacob Browne who sneaked his way into the corner.
Greg Smith’s second excellent conversion meant Dan Orwin’s men were within just seven points at half-time, trailing 21-14.
The second half, nevertheless, wasn’t an enjoyable one for Hoppers as they conceded an early try.
An excellent sidestep from Rian Hamilton saw him beat his man before crossing to make it 26-14.
That deficit grew further as more missed tackles in key areas ended with Robbie Davidson being the next to score.
Hoppers again started to make their way back into the match, despite being 33-14 adrift, but still made mistakes with passes either being missed or dropped.
The final nail in the coffin came 10 minutes from time when Wharfedale were held up just short of the line before Jack Pinder eventually made his way over for a converted try.