TYLDESLEY leap-frogged Upper Eden at the top of the North Lancs/Cumbria League in a keenly contested match at Pennine Park on Saturday.

The result finally swung Tyldesley's way after a disorganised spell of Eden rugby in the second half, but prior to that Eden had enjoyed 70 per cent of the game and certainly looked the more likely side to succeed.

Rick Heron missed an early penalty attempt but rapidly made amends when he kicked Eden ahead and then scored a notable try all of his own making. First, he chipped into space, then he fly-kicked ahead and then he won the race to the ball, touching down by the posts. He then added the conversion to give Eden a comfortable 10-0 lead.

Heron then went for a drop goal only to see his failed effort spark a series of Tyldesley drives and, eventually, a penalty against Eden (10-3).

After the restart Andy Harker made a clearance kick that Tyldesley tried to charge down. One of their players took the pace off the kick and an Eden player then gathered it. The referee awarded Tyldesley a penalty for offside' and, while Eden protested that their man had been played onside, Tyldesley took a quick tap penalty and crossed in the corner (10-8). Eden were in disarray and The Tyldesley scrum half exploited an uncharacteristic gap to serve one of his centres with a try- scoring pass. A good conversion was added and Eden suddenly found themselves 10-18 behind.

A well-driven maul saw Eden cross the line but Heron narrowly missed the conversion and, when Tyldesley bagged another penalty the game started to slip away at 15-21.

Eden probably played the ball too tightly among their forwards as they tried to fight back because when they did spin it, winger Phil Hughes crossed to take the score to a tantalising 20-21. Unfortunately, Heron again narrowly failed to add the conversion.

Eden continued to pound the Tyldesley line with a series of driving mauls, only for Tyldesley to pull them down. The referee was, apparently, close to awarding a penalty try when Eden's frustration eruped in a costly punching incident and, instead, he gave a penalty to Tyldesley and there was no further score.

The match was sponsored by the NFU. This weekend sees Eden without a first team match while the Boars are at home to Wensleydale.

l Upper Eden veterans beat Wensleydale 20-0 with tries by David Capstick (2), and Nigel Martin (2).