BRADFORD and Bingley began 2019 the way they ended 2018, with defeat in a game which they should have won, somehow contriving to lose 34-31 at Huddersfield YMCA after being 31-8 in front a minute into the second half.

With a 23-point advantage, the visitors looked certain to register a significant victory over the side two places above them in the North One East table.

The home side fought back tenaciously though, and had former Bees favourite, Gavin Stead, not missed four shots at goal, the YMCA side could have claimed a far more handsome victory.

The wheels came off the Bees' afternoon between the 57th and 69th minutes.

They conceded three yellow cards, awarded against Ante Majic, Jack Malthouse and Tom Cummins and also leaked three tries, which allowed the home side to pull the deficit back from 31-8 to 31-29.

Cummins' yellow was his second of the afternoon, so he was shown red in the 67th minute, leaving the depleted Bees with a difficult final 13 minutes to see out, eight of which were played without Cummins or Malthouse.

Still two points in front, the Bees needed calm heads to keep the ball away from their rampant opponents and run the clock down.

It was not to be, as they gifted the ball back to the hosts, who darted over the whitewash to go in front for a lead they would not relinquish.

Before the game, the Bees had to shuffle their backline as Gene Te Amo had returned to New Zealand on a personal matter. This meant Jack Malthouse moved in off the wing, where he had collected 11 tries in 11 games this season.

The shuffle of personnel did not seem to particularly disturb the Bees, with Cummins opening the scoring on five minutes.

Stead converted a 19th minute Huddersfield try to give them the lead for a short time but Lance Taylor edged the Bees back into the lead with a penalty.

Despite losing Cummins to his first period in the sin bin, the visitors were looking increasingly dominant and when Malthouse broke out of his own 22 and galloped to the try line on 35 minutes, the Bees were now in the ascendancy.

As the half wound down into injury time, Tom Johnson darted over for another score, showing no after effects from a suspected broken jaw, which had threatened to sideline him for a significant chunk of the season.

Taylor's conversion meant the Bees were 24-8 in front at the break and when they opened the scoring straightaway in the second half with a penalty try, to earn the four try bonus point for the 12th time in 15 games, it looked as though they would run away with proceedings.

The win would have put them just two points shy of their hosts in the table and into play-off contention with a home game against third-placed Morpeth to come this Saturday, but the late collapse put paid to that positive scenario.