YARNBURY lost their eighth Yorkshire Two game in a row to set in drop doubt as they now only sit four points above the safety zone.

The 12th-placed side were edged out of a valuable win at Thornensians 17-15.

The visitors made a few changes for their trip to South Yorkshire with fill in skipper James White coming in for Nathan Benton and Adam Kenvyn filling in at prop for Kyle Donworth who was unavailable.

The Horsforth side got off to a fine start for a change, controlling the ball and possession, before taking the lead through a converted try.

However, they were undone on 23-minutes when left wing Zak Holgate intercepted as the away side went looking for the overlap. Centre Shaun Roberts did the rest and stand off Lewis Wilson converted to level the scores.

Danny Pound kicked a straight forward penalty to put the league strugglers back in front.

The hosts came back in to the game for the second quarter partly due to the ineffective Yarnbury line out giving them extra possession. Although, Yarnbury defended well across the field, forward pressure finally told and Holgate crossed for an unconverted try to give the home side a close 12-10 lead going into the break.

Yarnbury had good spells of pressure in the second period and the backs moved the ball well down the right. Full back Jack Brown coming in to the line playing a grubber kick to split the defensive line as the ball bounced badly for the home full back which allowed right wing Josh Bell to touch down. Pound missed the conversion which would prove crucial.

The remainder of the half saw Thorn retain the ball for long spells and slow the game down to the disadvantage of the away side backs who looked dangerous with ball in hand.

The hosts scored their final try on the 60 minute mark after concerted pressure on the Yarnbury line through substitute Dan Eyre to take a 17-15 lead which they never lost.

Pound shaved the post with a penalty before hooker Tom Giilcrist spawned another penalty attempt for the second week running.

Despite the defeat, Yarnbury secured a bonus point, even though a four point win looked possible.

Yarnbury have five matches left to save their season with four of them against teams higher than them in the league.

Therefore, it is a must-win match for the Horsforth team next week when they host basement team local rivals West Park Leeds at Brownberrie Lane, in what is set to be a hotly-contested bottom of the table clash, with the winner taking a considerable step to avoiding the dreaded drop.