Hornets suffer a narrow defeat to in-form visitors
Telford Hornets have slipped to sixth in the Counties One Midlands West (North) table following a third straight defeat.
Hornets were edged out 19-18 on home soil by Burntwood in a game where the lead changed hands eight times.
Burntwood arrived on the back of five wins from five games and took an early 3-0 lead thanks to a penalty.
That sparked Telford into life and after some sustained pressure, hooker Steven Monk crossed in the corner for a try.
Telford gave away a penalty from the restart and Burntwood’s kicker duly slotted it to make it 6-5.
The hosts landed a penalty of their own to nose in front, but Burntwood hit back with a converted try.
Telford responded and another spell of dominant play was rewarded when Harry Stokes touched down. Dan Robinson added the conversion to put Hornets 15-13 up.
Another Burntwood penalty saw them retake the lead, but Telford responded and another three-pointer made it 18-16. But with five minutes left, Telford were penalised for not rolling away about 40 metres out and the Burntwood kicker slotted home the penalty to give his side a one-point lead. Robinson saw a late penalty fall just short as the the visitors held on.
Shrewsbury were also beaten in the same division – 43-31 at home by Newcastle – but there was better news for Newport Seconds as they beat Wolverhampton 29-24 to record their first win of the season.
Edward Udale, Robert Taylor and Oliver Chambers all crossed for Newport, while Udale added a further 14 points with the boot.
