Dinnington slip nearer to relegation zone after narrow defeat

And, with two unexpected victories elsewhere, they now find themselves uncomfortably close to the relegation zone.

Dinnington made a positive start as a kick over the top and then a box kick took them close to the Penrith line before they were forced into touch.

Penrith won the lineout before driving up to half way and then winning a penalty.

The visitors then made a break in midfield and shipped the ball wide to score in the corner with only three minutes played.

The try was converted but straight from the restart Dinnington were awarded a penalty in front of the posts and Jonny West converted to cut the deficit.

There then followed a spell where both sides won penalties but could not take advantage of them until just past the mid-point of the half when Dinnington opted to take a scrum just inside the Penrith half.

They moved the ball but were halted by a high tackle, resulting in a Penrith player being binned, and then kicked to the corner.

A catch and drive was brought down short of the line and Penrith had another player binned.

Not surprisingly, Dinnington opted for a scrum and drove over for Will Marshall to score. West converted from close to the touchline to put Dinnington 10-7 ahead. Despite being two players light Penrith were still able to pose an attacking threat and Dinnington found themselves defending on their own line. They twice stopped Penrith’s drives from lineouts but gave penalties away both times and this resulted in them having a player binned as well. Penrith opted to take the kick to level the scores and this is how the teams went into the break although a fine effort from half way by West, which fell just short, almost gave Dinnington the lead.

Both sides had early attacks in the second half before Dinnington started to gain an edge. Ten minutes into the half, after being fortunate at a deliberate knock-on, Penrith had their third player of the game sent to the bin when they illegally stopped a Dinnington drive.

Dinnington could consider themselves unfortunate not to have taken the lead minutes later when, having been halted five times, they had the ball tipped from their possession as they went over under the posts and Penrith cleared.

That would prove to be costly as Penrith rallied and Dinnington had to wait 15more minutes before another chance offered itself up.

A high tackle gave them a penalty chance but it drifted wide. As the game went into the final ten minutes it was still in the balance but Dinnington thought they had gained the initiative when they scored with eight minutes to go.

A chip and chase had the Penrith defence stretched but they managed to clear.

However, an off the ball incident saw them have their fourth player binned and Dinnington set up a catch and drive to put Jareth Mackay in for a try.

Unfortunately, Dinnington’s annoying habit on conceding almost straight after scoring struck again and within three minutes Penrith were scoring under the posts and going 17-15 ahead.

The visitors came close to scoring again near the end but conceded a penalty. Dinnington tried to run the ball from deep inside their own half but were unable to get into a scoring position. However, it took foul play to stop them and Penrith had a fifth player sin-binned in the last minute.

Dinnington go into the Christmas break knowing they have to start the New Year on a flyer because their first three games of 2017 are all against teams around them.