Penrith just shaded a tough encounter against a big powerful Rossendale side by the odd point. The home side started the game at 100mph, they pinned Penrith back in their own 22 and it was no surprise when the scored a well worked try in the 6th min, a conversion from wide out gave them a 7pt lead. Rossendale were playing down the considerable slope on their newly laid pitch and it was giving them a real advantage. Penrith did well at this stage to keep their line intact but slowly they began to claw their way back into the game and although they didn't look like scoring they did get a bit of possession and work their way up the field. All their good work looked to have been undone when a badly sliced kick flew across the field to a cluster of Rossendale players where there was little Penrith cover, despite desperate cover tackling the inevitable try was scored and the conversion gave a 14-0 lead. Penrith did well at this point not to let their heads drop and team spirit got them back into the game. As half-time approached a Steve Wood Penalty attempt came back of the post, James Ellar was the only one awake to the situation, he gathered the ball, beat a man and found Mike Hawley who wrong footed the whole defence when he cut back inside to cross and pull Penrith back into it by their boot laces at 14-5. In the last play of the 1st half Gavin Cartmel and Phil Fell cleaned up a Rossendale kick ahead on their 22, the ball was recycled and when moved wide by Steve Wood and James Ellar, Mike Hawley found himself in space, he hit the gap between the centre and winger, drew the final man and found Tom Armstrong cutting in from his wing with an inside basketball type pass and he went in under the posts. From looking dead and buried Penrith turned around at just 14-12 down with the slope to play down. Wood used the slope to pin Rossendale back in their own half and most of the 2nd half was played there. Penrith put them under tremendous pressure and looked to have created a good try but were pulled back for a forward pass, Rossendale however were adjudged to have been offside and Wood's boot gave them the narrowest of advantages at 14-15. Rossendale had two penalty chances to retake the lead, the first just went under the bar and the second one hit it. The game had a dramatic finish, with the clock ticking down Penrith took a quick line-out, Gavin Cartmel took the ball, ran round half the disorganised defence before finding Hawley, who looked to have run out of space but found Cartmel with a pass back inside and he outstripped the cover to score under the posts. The conversion looked to have sealed it for Penrith but Rossendale came back strongly, their No10 made an inspired run breaking a number of tackles before they scored wide on the right and the well taken conversion brought the points difference back to just one but Penrith held out for the final minute to claim an excellent away victory.