WHARFEDALE'S head coach Jon Feeley has put their defeat against Otley down to the naivety of youth.

The Greens played up the hill first last Saturday at The Avenue and were leading 14-8 at the interval.

However, the hosts then failed to score any points down the slope and ended up losing the National League Two North clash 16-14 – the fourth successive time that the Cross Greeners have triumphed over their rivals.

"We had set the job up at half-time but a lack of discipline in terms of the laws of the game and our game-plan allowed Otley back in," said Feeley.

"The penalties that we gave away allowed Otley to kick for the corners and use their two main weapons – the driving maul and the scrum.

"It came down to key decisions and we needed a bit more composure, and Otley were able to wait for our mistakes and capitalise, but you can put that down to the naivety of youth."

In a game of fine margins, Wharfedale were frustrated that winger Rian Hamilton's try early in the second half was chalked off as he was deemed to have knocked on in goal, but equally Otley were convinced that their right winger Steve Nolson had scored up the slope in the opposite corner.

It wasn't all doom and gloom for the Greens, however, in front of a crowd of 707, and Feeley said that the defeat, which made their 2018-19 league record the same as Otley (won two, lost two), didn't make Wharfedale a bad team.

He added: "We were just beaten by a more experienced side."

The main positives were the tries that the hosts scored – by Dan Stockdale in the 16th minute and Tom Mann in the 40th minute.

Mann's effort has been called one of the finest tries seen at the Avenue in recent seasons, and Feeley said: "Those tries were all about what we are, especially the second one – skills at pace.

"We created several opportunities that we didn't take, including one in the last minute, so we are doing 95 per cent of the things right. It is just that other five per cent."

Wharfedale have more Yorkshire opposition this weekend – third-placed Hull Ionians away.

Feeley said: "We know what they will bring but this is a time to focus on ourselves and not Ionians."