Rotherham Titans put in a much-improved performance, but were still unable to grab the win as they went down 38-32 to Plymouth Albion at Clifton Lane.
Titans collected two points for their efforts as they ended the game within seven points of the visitors and scored four tries.
Indeed, Titans first half performance was one of their best for quite some time as they played some tidy rugby and controlled much of the game.
Winger Dan Leake gave the hosts a perfect start when he majestically collected a high clearance kick from Sam Hollingsworth as early as the second minute and then proceeded to race in from 40 metres.
Hollingsworth added the conversion and then extended the Titans advantage further on 10 minutes with a well taken penalty.
The only real disappointment for the home side in the first half came on 25 minutes when after overthrowing at their own line-out, five metres from the Albion line, they found themselves conceding a driving maul try from prop Koree Britton a minute later!
Full back Connor Eastgate converted to add to his 14th minute penalty to level things up at 10 apiece.
Rotherham however responded quickly and with purpose about their work.
On the half hour mark Hollingsworth added his second penalty, before a minute later creating a super try as he dummied 40 metres out and broke the line. He took play inside the 22 before drawing the final defender to send in scrum half Sam Boxhall under the sticks.
Indeed, in first half injury time Rotherham could have extended their advantage further, when Anthony Maka broke inside the Albion 22. However, some last-gasp scramble defence from Albion kept their line intact and the sides went in at the break with Titans holding a healthy 20-10 lead.
Based on the first 40 minutes of a pulsating game, no one in the ground would have imagined what was about to occur in the opening quarter of the second half.
Inside a 19 minute spell between the 48th and 67th minute Plymouth ran in 4 unanswered tries through number 8 Ruis Tuima, second rower John Kelly, winger Shea Cornish and flanker George Mills.
Unfortunately for Rotherham Mills blatant dropping of the ball over the line was missed by all three officials and the try was awarded.
To their credit Titans bounced back with great urgency and scored two late tries through skipper Zak Poole and winger Jamie Cooke.
Oh how Rotherham wished the officials had a better view of the Albion knock-on over the line!
Commenting on the game afterwards, Titans’ Martin Jenkinson, explained, “If you look at how the game broke down; for 60 minutes we were the better team. However, they scored four unanswered tries in a 20 minutes spell after half time which was very disappointing.
“Having said that, we have just said to the boys it’s been a good training week, the first one we’ve had for some time and I believe that we’ve seen the start of the mending process – the process of putting things right.
“Hopefully we can get some more front row players back from injury and hopefully we can start managing these games for a full 80 minutes, because it was that game management immediately after half time that lets us down.
“We stopped exiting. When we start trying to play inside our own half we are inviting pressure on ourselves and you end up getting yourselves into situations where you are never out of the pressure cooker.
“You then cough ball up for whatever reason and it ends up in a try against you; whereas they should be a foot through it down the field to allow us to play in safer areas. We did it in the first half, but not when we came out after half time.
“We have just got to keep working, there’s no magic wand to wave, we have to keep working hard, we need to get some more boys fit and we have to stick our collective shoulders behind the wheel to make sure we get enough points to stay in the division.”
Referee: Llyr ApGeraint-Roberts
Attendance: 481
Yellow Card: Mills (Plymouth)
Titans: Leake (T), Boxhall (T), Poole (T), Cooke (T), Hollingsworth (3C, 2P)
Plymouth Albion: Britton (T), Tuima (T), Kelly (T), Cornish (T), Mills (T), Eastgate (5C, 1P)
Titans: 15 Tom Bacon, 14 Jamie Cooke, 13 Tom Bullough, 12 Harry Dunne, 11 Dan Leake (Dever 33), 10 Sam Hollingsworth, 9 Sam Boxhall, 1 Toby Williams, 2 Jack Bergmanas (Newborn 40), 3 Will Dennis, 4 Kieran Frost, 5 Elliott Ward (Preston-Routledge 53), 6 Zak Poole (Capt.), 7 Lewis Wilson, 8 Anthony Maka.
Replacements: 16 Harry Newborn, 17 James Armitage, 18 Dan Preston-Routledge, 19 Alfie North, 20 Connor Dever.
Plymouth Albion: 15 Connor Eastgate, 14 Shea Cornish (Ingoldsby74), 13 Dean Squire, 12 Javiah Pohe (Powell 78), 11 Alex Ducker, 10 Sam Morley, 9 Joe Snow, 1 Koree Britton, 2 James Salter, 3 Jack Higgins, 4 John Kelly, 5 Lewis Pearson, 6 Dan Swain (Collier 68), 7 George Mills, 8 Ruis Tuima.
Replacements: 16 Peter Ingoldsby, 17 Alex Smith, 18 Cameron Setter, 19 Dan Collier, 20 Dan Powell.
