YARNBURY were beaten 22-15 by Northallerton in their Yorkshire Two encounter – but there were plenty of positives for the hosts.

The home side welcomed back four backs in Will Marshall, Josh Bateson, James Enderby and captain James White along with prop Lewis Atha.

With Ian Maycock, Richard Lister and Cameron Newby on the bench, the team had a solid feel about it.

From the kick-off, Yarnbury pressed the Northallerton line but to no avail as the big visiting pack held firm.

Yarnbury lost field position on three quick occasions from basic penalties, giving their opponents a chance to catch and drive from lineouts.

The home defence did well to pull them up short on a number of occasions, stopping the momentum before a Yarnbury attack gave stand-off Danny Pound a chance in front of the posts to give them the lead.

The diminutive stand-off then made a superb ankle tackle on the Northallerton back row forward Rob Green to stop a certain try as Yarnbury again repelled their opponents.

The pressure told when another forward drive saw Green get the touch down following a five metre scrum but Australian stand-off Ashley Rio couldn't convert.

The try was hard-fought against a determined defence with none more committed than Tom Goldthorpe, chasing from the lineout on the left to stop the winger on the right.

Yarnbury had a good interchange between White and Bateson down the right flank, which was cut out by the Northallerton defence.

The forwards carried well down the middle with yards made by James Barrett, James Falgate and Tom Gilcrist, and Yarnbury were also making progress on the fringes.

Northallerton countered from their own half on two occasions as both sides looked to wrestle the initiative, but half-time came with no further score.

The second half saw the away side take control through their forwards and the astute kicking of Rio pushing Yarnbury back on the defensive.

Rio stroked over a penalty before the stalemate was broken when James Hopkins – the Northallerton coach and back row – charged over from close in. With Rio converting, the lead was extended to 15-3.

This was the trigger for Yarnbury to take control in the final quarter and test the away resources and commitment.

First, second row Falgate took control of the ball from a tap penalty and drove over the line through the Northallerton pack, with Pound converting.

With Yarnbury applying the pressure, quick ball from scrum-half Les Crowther and quick hands from White and Endersby gave winger Bateson the chance to weave through the defence and touch down to tie the scores at 15-15.

However, Northallerton countered through Hopkins who released his right winger to claim a good try, which Rio converted to put Northallerton in front.

Yarnbury had a 'try' disallowed harshly for a double movement after winger Bateson was also denied a score in the corner after the referee overturned the touch judge's decision, as Northallerton held out for the win.