A THIRD consecutive defeat saw Crosfields miss the opportunity to move into a play-offs position on Saturday.

They were beaten 22-18 at home by Stanningley.

Crosfields hit back after going behind when John Whittaker was tackled high, with Jack Reid dummying and racing over from 20 metres. He converted his own try to give his side a 6-4 lead.

Matt Barber bulldozed over before the break for Reid to convert and edge the hosts into a 12-10 lead.

On the half hour, consecutive penalties gave Stanningley the opportunity for sustained attack, which they duly converted into points, when Dean Parker chased down a grubber kick to score. Jackson Green converted for a 10-6 lead.

With less than a minute to go in the first half, consecutive sets provided the foundation for Crosfields forward to power their way to the opposition line, where Matt Barber’s typical bull-dozing run earned him a try. Reid converted for a 12-10 half time lead.

The home side extended their lead through Jack Probert in the corner.

The Crosfields defence forced an error deep in opposition territory. Reid moved the ball to Whittaker, whose long ball found Probert on the outside and he dived over in the corner. Reid converted superbly from the touch-line and an 18-10 lead.

But the Stanningley comeback began through former Leeds Rhinos man Mark Calderwood, with Luke Gallagher and Sam Savage also crossing.

Stanningley hit back, with Calderwood scoring an unconverted try.

This gave his team the boost they needed and Crosfields were on the back foot.

Luke Gallagher’s break was supported by Adam Benn, who drew the full-back and returned the ball to Gallagher for a try, which levelled the scores.

Crosfields couldn’t hold onto the ball long enough to build the momentum to score, but Stanningley were on the up.

Running the ball on the last, winger Sam Savage kicked though and won the race to the ball and scored the try, for what was a winning score of 22-18.

Crosfields re-grouped and pushed hard to get back on level terms, but finally ran out of time.

 Injuries to key players in the first 20 minutes hurt Crosfields in the second half.

The home side man of the match went to Joe Moore after another hard working performance.

Crosfields travel to Drighlington on Saturday.