IT is now seven defeats on the bounce for Yarnbury as their slide down the Yorkshire Two table continued with a 20-17 defeat to relegation rivals Barnsley.

This was a must win game against a team one place below them in 13th but the Horsforth side are consistently being worn down by bigger packs in the latter stages despite determined defence.

Yarnbury had captain in recent weeks Nathan Benton helping the side as a back row forward.The starting team was deemed the strongest possible for this fixture with prop Lewis Atha and hooker Tom Gilcrist back to support Kyle Donworth in a solid looking front row.

Yarnbury gave points away in the first five minutes in dramatic style when centre Callan Drewery broke the defensive line and forced a foot chase with the bouncing ball hitting the posts which allowed Harry Harvey to touch down.

Barnsley continued to dominate the early exchanges and thought they had extended their lead through a Adam Edwards try. The referee initially gave the score but then changed his mind and gave a defensive scrum to Yarnbury who cleared the danger.

Not to be outdone, the away side did eventually add to their tally with a Josh Smith penalty.

Yarnbury responded with their backs finally getting Josh Bell away down the left side. The speed merchant beat two defenders to score in the corner and with Danny Pound landing a touchline conversion the hosts were only three points down.

Bell again was involved in the scoring to provide the home side with a slight lead going into the break.

The game was always competitive as the visitors began to lose their cool under sustained pressure and Yarnbury consolidated their lead 20 minutes into the second period. George Bowen going over the whitewash after supporting James Endersby who worked space down the left.

However, Barnsley levelled when Yarnbury were reduced to 14 men. Atha was given 10 minutes in the sin bin for a technical offence on the floor. Hooker Harry Harvey scored close in to make the score 17 -17 as the game reached the nail biting final stages.

With both sides looking for an opening to take the valuable points, the advantage was with the home side as Barnsley were constantly getting penalised for silly fouls.

Yarnbury had a great opportunity to take the spoils with simple penalty but a 'rush of blood' made player coach Tom Gilcrist scorn the three points.

Typically, as in previous games late penalties have cost the Horsforth side but luckily for them centre Smith narrowly missed his kick shaving the post.

Not learning from their mistakes Yarnbury took a short 22 metre drop out and lost possession. Smith took the match by the scruff of the neck belting over a long range scruffy drop goal to seal the points on the stroke of the referee's full time whistle.

The agonising loss moves Barnsley only five points away from the defeated Yarnbury who remain 12th, seven points off the bottom.