LEEDS scored two tries late in each half to rob Wharfedale of victory on Saturday.
Dale opened the match with some blistering rugby and they would be rewarded for their fast start very early on.
The hosts took the kick-off and then followed up the clearance kick by forcing a scrum on half-way. They won the scrum, with a penalty advantage, and then Bradley Viner broke through the defence and offloaded to Harry Bullough who got the first try. Robbie Davidson converted to give Dale a 7-0 lead after just two minutes.
Wharfedale then had to endure some pressure from the away side, before mounting their next foray into Leeds' territory. Robbie Davidson broke out of his 22 and with a bit more support could have reached the try-line. The attack floundered but a succession of Leeds penalties allowed Davidson to have a shot at goal and extend their lead to ten points.
The next attack by the visitors looked promising until a fine tackle by Viner was followed by a jackle by Bullough. The home side clung on to the lead until four minutes into stoppage time.
Dale had given away a succession of penalties and Davidson was awarded a yellow card after straying offside. Leeds had ample phases in attack before they stretched the defence for Oliver Williams to touch down. Kit Keith landed the conversion.
Wharfedale went down to 13 men two minutes into the second half, after a tackle on the Dale line, with the assistant referee adjudging the defender to have got his head on the wrong side of a tackle. Leeds called for a red card, but their protests were quickly dismissed.
Hedgley, when he had recovered from the shoulder to his nose, was shown yellow. There followed some superb Green Machine defence with Leeds forced to go through multiple phases. Leeds eventually capitalised with a converted try by Matt Burke.
The decisions were not going Dale’s way. They seemed to have stemmed the tide when Leeds dropped the ball only for the assistant referee to decide it was a Wharfedale knock-on. The Dale protest led to a penalty and they scored from the resulting lineout.
Restored to 15 players, the hosts again dominated. From a lineout on the Leeds 22 the ball was worked to midfield and then a bruising run by Jack Pinder was offloaded to Tom Beresford who crossed the whitewash for a converted try to take Dale back into the lead.
Harry Bullough’s second converted try gave the home side a 24-14 lead.
Adam Brown scored a converted try for Leeds; the only try that Leeds managed to score against a 15-man strong Dale side. More yellow cards ensued, leaving Leeds with 14 players and Dale with 13. Thomas Williams touched down for the Leeds winner and again Keith converted.
Despite the 28-24 defeat, it was a wholehearted performance by the men wearing green and it could have gone either way.
This Saturday Wharfedale travel to face off with Billingham, with kick-off getting underway at 2:15 pm.
