Wharfedale almost stun Chester to leave Feeley feeling good

The Greens were 21-8 behind at the interval on Saturday but roared back to lead 22-21 after an hour. They were denied victory after Phil Woodhead's mysteriously disallowed score was followed by a last-gasp Chester try to make it 28-25 at full-time.

Feeley said he would much rather hear about a win than how close his team had got or how well they had played, but he conceded that Wharfedale's second half performance was something special.

He enthused: "That second half was the proudest I've ever been as Wharfedale head coach. It's the best I've seen from the team in a 40-minute spell.

"Chester couldn't live with the structures we were putting together at times. They had the best home record in the league too, so it shows what we're capable of."

That narrow defeat against the league's second-placed side should stand them in good stead for their game against Sheffield, who currently sit 11th in National Two North.

Feeley warned against complacency, saying: "The problem with this league is that everyone is capable of beating each other.

"Sheffield will bring a different skill set to Chester, but they'll be equally as threatening. The Wharfedale fans will tell you from last year that if you give them an inch, they'll hit you with their quick and dangerous gameplan.

"We are determined to win though after what happened at Chester."

The key moment against Chester was Woodhead's disallowed try. It would have put the visitors two scores ahead, but the referee pulled players back for a scrum instead.

Feeley was disappointed but magnanimous, saying: "It was a strange decision by the referee, but he's only 24 and working his way up in the game.

"He was excellent apart from that. We're all human and he made a mistake, just like our players do sometimes.

"We'll live, but we'll just have to make sure we're a couple of tries in front if that happens in future."