Last updated at 09:15, Tuesday, 17 July 2012

DEFEAT was a hard pill for Barrow Raiders to swallow as they went down for only the second time this season at Doncaster.

HANDY DANDY: James Dandy throws out a pass REF: S83261B

Their best efforts were just not good enough, as profligacy with the ball and three tries conceded on the back of penalties saw them knocked off the top of Championship One.

Barrow only turned up for spells in each half and you cannot afford to do that against one of the top sides in the division.

While they have done similar against the lesser teams in the league and come away with the points, here their spells of quality were neither good enough nor long enough and the defeat was deserved.

Doncaster could have been out of sight within the first 20 minutes as they played Barrow off the park and hardly let them into their half of the wide Keepmoat Stadium field.

The home side went ahead just five minutes in when a high cross-field kick from Craig Fawcett hung in the air as it drifted towards the left corner.

Ryan Shaw and Mike Backhouse were under it, but so was try-machine Lee Waterman, who jumped best and then evaded Shaw to go in for his 26th score of the season in all competitions.

Barrow had yet to make it into the Doncaster red zone when they went further behind, this time after referee Jamie Leahy flummoxed everyone by changing a forward pass ruling against the home side into a high tackle penalty against Barrow.

This gave the Dons the chance to approach the Raiders line again, with prop Mark Castle slicing through three tacklers between the posts, who failed in their duty to stop him grounding.

Only when they were 10 points down did Barrow start to play, though their first opening ended in failure as a Scott Kaighan pass was knocked on by Dan Toal as he tried to charge through 10 yards out.

But penalties in their favour paid off for Raiders, with two in quick succession allowing them to camp on the Dons line, where James Dandy went through a gap on the blind-side and sent James Nixon in from close range for 10-4.

It was all very unexpected, though no more so than the try which levelled the scores.

Stuck deep in his own half on the last tackle, Kaighan put in a raking kick towards the corner. Dean Colton seemed to have it well under control, but he watched it bounce too often and allowed Nixon to race up and hack it into the centre of the field.

There he found Liam Campbell, who had chased down the middle of the park before picking up and sliding in from 10 yards, despite Mick Butterfield’s efforts to stop him.

The momentum had switched, but it went as the game was held up when Fran Welsh suffered a broken leg and had to be taken off on a stretcher for the home side, who were quickly back into their rhythm.

Doncaster’s lead was restored thanks to another penalty – this one against Kaighan – which put them 20 metres out and gave half-backs Paul Cooke and Lawton the chance to send Mike Emmett over for a lead that was warranted on the balance of first-half play.

Shaw cut the deficit after the half-time hooter as Doncaster were punished for offside on the last tackle of the period, leaving Barrow with a four-point deficit to overcome in the second 40 minutes.

The task increased within two minutes of the restart as a rare defensive lapse on his own line from skipper Liam Harrison allowed Waterman in for his second try from close range.

Barrow could not afford the same lengthy lapse they had in the first half and they avoided it with a quick response.

A set of six looked to be petering out before Martin Ostler made a strong break down the right with support outside from Shaw. The speedy centre made ground down the touchline and raced round two men to score in the corner before landing the touchline conversion and putting Barrow back to within two points.

Yet again it was a penalty which allowed the Dons to strike back, this time Harrison picking up a kick that had hit his own man and being called for offside.

The mistake was punished as Doncaster went up to the line and Cooke put Mike Kelly through yet another big hole for 24-18.

Barrow were having chances, but were now unable to take them as Campbell lost the ball running for the line and Ryan Duffy was halted by a home swarm.

Such missed chances were all too common and punished by Doncaster, with Russ Spiers breaking through the middle of the park and sending Fawcett in for another try, with Nixon left spinning in circles trying to stop him.

The lead was now 10 points and the home team had the bit between their teeth, but somehow Barrow came back, with a Campbell kick to the corner bouncing perfectly for Mike Backhouse, who chased it down and grounded for 28-24.

With tension mounting, both sides were reduced to 12 men as Alex Rowe and Andy Bracek were sent to the sin-bin for fighting, setting up the final 10 minutes of a great game.

For the fourth time penalties looked to have cost Barrow as Carl Hughes ran over the line, but he was pulled back for obstruction and Raiders breathed again.

The visitors thought they had scored with five minutes to go, but Backhouse’s effort in the corner was chalked off for a forward pass from Shaw as pressure built on both teams.

It was a question of who would crack and it looked to be Raiders as they failed to convert territory into points with the clock ticking down – Campbell knocking on an interception that would have had him away down the left the most obvious chance.

Playing to the stadium clock, which gave time as being up two minutes before it was, they panicked and handed the game to Doncaster on a plate.

In the end time ran out for Barrow and they fell to a defeat that may not affect their promotion chances but has put a serious dent in their title hopes.

First published at 16:11, Monday, 16 July 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk