Penrith knew they faced a stiff assignment at Northern, they had only beaten them narrowly at home and along with league leaders Morpeth they were the only side to deny the Cumbrians a four try bonus point so far this season. Penrith's commitment and effort could not be questioned, they gave it their all but they were not quite on their game. They were just a little bit rusty, just a little bit out of sorts with themselves, things weren't quite coming off, they looked like a side that had had a fortnight off for Christmas and not trained!
They were also playing on a grass pitch in January and although the surface was in great nick for the time of year and the amount of rain there's been, it was not Winters Park. Half breaks would have been clean breaks at home and their backs didn't look the unstoppable force they have looked like to press this season.
The home side came out of the blocks the quicker, they had a chance to take the lead as early as the second minute but a penalty attempt was screwed well wide. They continued to have the better of things but the visitors held them at bay and then when they finally strung some phases of play together made good ground and won a penalty in the home 22.
It was kicked to the corner and hooker Craig Price found Sam Wilson at the tail with an accurate throw, they attempted the driving maul but were well held by the home forwards. They then wheeled the maul, reset it and then made a bit of progress and got to within five yards of the line when Mason Lewthwaite peeled off the side of the maul and one handed placed the ball on the line. Fraser Nicolson struck the conversion nicely and the visitors had a seven point lead.
There was little to chose between the two well matched sides and now it was the home side's turn to be on the front foot. They levelled the scores from a penalty kicked to the corner, their lineout was secure all afternoon and their initial drive for the line was thwarted but they continued to pick and drive from just a couple of yards out and met stout resistance until the ball came to the stand off who saw the gap and picked his spot besides the posts.
Penrith then had the better of the last 15 minutes of the first half, they had two good try scoring opportunities that didn't quite come to fruition but finally took the lead when the home pack were penalised at their put in to the scrum just outside their 22. Nicolson again struck the ball sweetly and the visitors led 10-7 at the break.
They started the second period well enough, George Graham caught the home defence on the back foot with a quickly taken penalty and Lewthwaite continued the run into the home 22 but was hauled down and although the visitors retained possession they couldn't grind down the excellent home defence.
Northern then took the game to the visitors and strung a good number of phases and possession together to get their winger over in the corner, the conversion drifted wide so they had a two point advantage but then extended it to five points with 10 minutes to go when the visitors were penalised for a high tackle.
From the restart Penrith had a penalty opportunity when the home side were pinged for crossing but the kick just drifted wide. The Cumbrians finished the game strongly in the home 22 but could not break down the stubborn home defensive line, they had the put in to the scrum under the home posts for the final play but couldn't steal the game at the death.
As the players left the field news filtered through that league leaders Morpeth had also narrowly lost, the Penrith contingent didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Whether to rejoice that they were still only two points adrift or to bemoan the fact that if they'd played to their potential they would now be topping the table. They now have to pick themselves up for the trip to Stockton this week and make sure there's not another slip up.