TWO late tries saw Skipton 2nds beaten by a score of 42-25 at Aireborough 2nds in a closely fought game on Saturday.

Skipton were saved from starting the game with 14 men, thanks to veteran Michael Smith pulling some borrowed kit on.

However, Aireborough were quick to notice the absence of pace down the left wing and focused their attacks well.

Good support running allowed the home side to score three tries in the opening 20 minutes.

Skipton finally awoke, and strong forward play and a change in tactics from half-backs Brian Brocksom and Mark Walton saw Skipton gain momentum and steadily progress up the field.

Tom Allsopp crashed over for Skipton's first try, followed shortly after by a similar short range burst from Andy Whitley.

Skipton continued to look dangerous, even when Whitley was shown a yellow card for unfortunately placed high knees.

During the stint with 14 men, Skipton scored their third through Carl Nicholson after some great line-out play from the pack.

The teams turned around 21-15 at half-time.

In the second half, Skipton continued where they had left off bringing the score to 21-20 through great play from the tireless Tony Spensley. His expertly timed off-load to Ryan Ridehalgh finished off the move.

Skipton's dominance continued, however possession was regularly being lost due to handling errors in the back line.

This saw many chances fall by the wayside and gave the hosts opportunity to maintain a grip on the game.

From a quick tap penalty, they caught the defence unawares and skipped away to make the score 28-20 with just 10 minutes to go.

Strong forward running saw Skipton gain field position in Aireborough's red zone as Lee Shaw was held up.

A few phases after the scrum and Carl Nicholson touched down under the posts for his second of the game taking the score to 28-25 with just minutes to go.

Skipton went for the win and got into good field position, however Aireborough turned a ruck against the head and broke away unopposed to stretch their lead, and extended it further before the final whistle a defender intercepted a Skipton pass and sprinted 70 yards to put the score beyond a doubt.

Aaron Tattersall-Jarvis, on his return to action, was named joint man of the match with Nicholson, who was impressive in set pieces.

LEE SHAW