Worthing Raiders faced heartbreak at the hands of Farnham after narrowly losing 21-22 away from home.
With just six games remaining, the Raiders needed a win to keep in touch with clubs above them in mid-table.
Raiders were bolstered by the return of Ben Heber after a lengthy injury layoff, but were without Christian Streater for the rest of the season as he is going overseas for a few months.
On a chilly and sunny afternoon on a heavy pitch, Farnham wasted no time in asserting their dominance, scoring a try within the first minute and successfully converting it to take an early 7-0 lead.
The game lacked spark, with neither team controlling possession or territory decisively nor being able to convert moments of individual quality into results.
Frequent misplaced passes by the Raiders hampered promising phase play, and handling errors created a stop-start affair.
At 20 minutes, Raiders were denied a try when the ball was held up over the try line.
However, they persisted.
Awarded a penalty against Farnham in the midfield, they utilised the opportunity for a lineout.
The forwards pushed gallantly towards the try line, but eventually, the ball was moved to Joel Andrews, who scored the Raiders’ first try.
The conversion by Tom Sanderson levelled the score at 7-7.
Raiders made early substitutions to shift the game's momentum, introducing Sam Myles and Sam Cook in place of Tom Sanderson and Struan Robertson.
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Despite periods of intense possession, neither side could break the deadlock, earning a score of 7-7 at half-time.
The second half saw Farnham pull ahead with a converted try, raising the score to 14-7.
The Raiders' response was swift, with Myles displaying adept skill to score. Ed Hartley’s conversion evened the score once more at 14-14.
Farnham pushed ahead with an unconverted try, but Ed Hartley's breakthrough and subsequent self-conversion put Raiders in the lead, 21-19.
With under ten minutes left to play, more drama was to come.
A penalty against the Raiders at a ruck allowed Farnham to snatch back the lead by a single point, 22-21.
Despite a late surge from the Raiders, a referee's call on a knock-on snuffed out any remaining hopes of a comeback.
The full-time score stood at Farnham 22, Worthing Raiders 21.
Despite the close contest, the game was not a thrilling spectacle with consistent errors disrupting its rhythm.
However, the Raiders have managed to keep themselves twelve points clear of the relegation play-off zone.
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