Scarborough squandered a 15-9 half-time lead to suffer their first defeat of the season following a close-fought thriller at Dukes Park.
An early exchange of penalties between fly-half Tom Harrison for the visitors and wing Jack Arthur for Bridlington saw early honours shared at 3-3 before a further Arthur kick nudged the home side 6-3 ahead.
The lead was short-lived and a try from centre Craig Farrell in the 20th minute grabbed the lead for the visitors at 8-6. Fullback Oliver Stephenson kicked Bridlington ahead with a penalty but Harrison opened a gap between the sides with a try and conversion for a 15-9 half-time lead.
Tries early in the second half by right wing Stephens and centre Martin saw Bridlington lead 19-15. Harrison cut the lead to a single point with a penalty on the hour after which both sides had opportunities to win the match.
Following a full-blooded final quarter, the game was settled by an injury time penalty from Jack Arthur and Bridlington survived a few scares to hold on for a 22-18 win.
Skipper Tom Ratcliffe’s men appeared to lose momentum when they lost the services of centre Craig Farrell on the half hour. The absence of young scrum-half Jordi Wakeham; dropped from the squad to the Vikings to accommodate Phil Stewart who was back-up for Harrison who was carrying in injury, deprived the side of options and that extra zip when legs were tiring at the end of the game. He was sorely missed.
FULL REPORT BY DAVE CAMPBELL AND PICTURES BY ANDY STANDING IN THURSDAY’S SCARBOROUGH NEWS
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