Cowling Harlequins 16 Boothtown Terriers A 16

QUINS came agonisingly close to victory after finally making back on the field after a long lay-off due to bad weather.

But a late try from the Terriers meant they were forced to share the spoils.

The game, which was played at Silsden, started at a fast pace, with Cowling seeing a lot of the ball. However, the rustiness showed as sets were not completed.

The Halifax side were gifted a try-scoring opportunity, which they seized upon, but Cowling hit back straight away as Ali Feather's cut-out pass found centre Jack Ninniss-Stodart to race in at the corner.

Quins thought they had scored again when, following the restart, man of the match Craig Nicholson raced 60 metres and drew the full back before passing to Ninniss-Stodart to race in. However, the referee ruled the pass was forward.

Undeterred, the hosts threw everything at the Terriers line and it paid off when combining half-backs Scott Cunningham and Feather combined to find Ninniss-Stodart, who crossed and Cunningham kicked the two points.

The hosts were dealt a big blow when captain Ben Pickles was red-carded in the 25th minute and momentum shifted to the Halifax team. They scored in the corner to make it 10-10.

Quins almost went it at the break in front when hooker Anthony Packer carved a hole up the middle but a Terriers winger intervened.

Cowling seized the initiative in the 61st minute when Jay Bingham hit a wide angle off Nicholson to go over and Cunningham kicked a great conversion to make it 16-10.

Boothtown kept knocking on the door but great defence from Liam Mitchell and Chris Lambert kept them out. At the other end, Cunningham's chip kick to the corner was collected by Jordan Powell, who was held up over the line.

From the resulting turnover, Boothtown crossed the whitewash on the final play for the draw.

Cowling make the short journey to Halifax to face the Terriers again this Saturday.