Penrith's winning start to the season came to a halt in their fifth game away at Alnwick, it was a closely fought affair going right down to the wire with the home side scoring the winning try in the final minute of proper time. The sides were well matched being only one place apart in the league and while Penrith prior to the game had the highest total in the points for column and the lowest total in points against Alnwick were second in both categories.
If Penrith thought this was going to follow the pattern of the season's previous matches they very quickly discovered they were going to be in a game, they had some early possession and put the ball through the hands and through the phases and had great difficulty making headway against some aggressive front foot tackling from the hosts. There was little to pick between the sides as they went hard at each other.
It was Penrith who got the opening score rather against the run of play. It came as the result of a bit of aerial ping pong, Alnwick cleared the ball deep with the breeze at their back. Jamie McNaughton cleared his lines and it was gathered by the home right winger who chipped the ball down the touchline. Penrith captain Mike Fearon had got back to cover and fielded the ball as two chasers closed on him. He stepped the first and then the second and on half way moved slightly infield and pulled the cover off the touchline and popped a pass on his outside that Ben Littleton raced on to and with a clear run to the line scored without a hand being laid on him. Fearon hit a tricky conversion low and accurately into the breeze and the Cumbrians were seven points up.
The home side came back hard and put Penrith under tremendous pressure. They kicked a penalty to the 22, won the lineout and drove for the line, Penrith were penalised at the maul so the penalty was kicked to the line for a 5m lineout. The home side secured the ball and got over the line but it was adjudged to have been held up. Penrith were struggling at the resultant 5m scrum and were penalised again, the home side opted for a second scrum with the same result, again they opted for a scrum but this time the ball squirted out before they could turn the screw and they ran the ball into midfield. The first charge was thwarted but from the second they formed a driving maul and made it to the line. The conversion was good and the teams were on level terms.
This was midway through the first half and the home side had the better of the remainder of it, they had two shots at goal, the first one was missed but the second one was good so the hosts got to half time 10-7 up which was a pretty fair reflection of what had gone on.
Fearon got his side back on level terms just minutes into the second period, he struck a 30m plus penalty shot but Penrith were soon under the cosh again. A home penalty to the 22 and a catch and drive from the lineout was eventually brought to a halt but over eager defenders were penalised for diving over at the breakdown and the home side's three point lead was restored.
Penrith then got their noses back infront, Jon Fell chased a long clearance kick on the breeze to the home 22, the ball was fumbled and the chasers were able to turn over the ball, they then ran a number of phases at the home defence on the 22 before Phil Armstrong crashed the ball a bit deeper with a diagonal run to the right. George Graham, off the bench at half time, sent the ball down the short side. Craig Price did very well to get the ball to McNaughton as he took the tackle and the full back made for the corner. It looked to all the world as if he would get bundled into touch but at the last moment he looped the ball back inside and Graham was in support to run the try in.
The conversion gave Penrith a four point lead but it was almost immediately reduced to a single point as they failed to take the restart and were penalised for a high tackle. There was still half an hour to go and Penrith now had their best period of the game. They were spending more time in the home half and 22 than at any other time in the game and although both sides were making plenty of mistakes and there were chances at both ends they looked to be having the better of it.
They thought they had scored the try that might have swung the game, the forwards made good ground from a lineout on the home 22, the ball went left to the backs. Fell made the extra man off the blindside wing and put Littleton in at the corner but they pulled back for a forward pass.
The game then went into the final 10 minutes and Penrith seemed to go into "hanging on" mode. Play went deeper and deeper into Penrith territory and they became more and more desperate. Fell for the second time in the game did well to rescue them as he chased back to gather a kick ahead just short of his own line and was able to legally hang on to the ball long enough for the support to arrive. A scrum lost against the head and a lineout against the throw piled on the pressure. Liam Tunstall at full stretch just got to the winger to tap tackle him as he looked bound for the corner and then just as it it looked as if they might have hung on the pressure told and the winger went in at the corner in the 80th minute. There was time to restart the game but only for one play and the home side gathered the kickoff and deposited it into touch.
It is always desperately disappointing to lose a game in these circumstances but they did secure a losing bonus point and Penrith will not be the only side from the top half of the table to be turned over there. All they can do is prepare for Morpeth at home.