Barrow Raiders gave their survival hopes a major boost, beating Dewsbury Rams 31-24 at FLAIR Stadium in Round 20 of the Betfred Championship.

The Raiders were forced to dig deep to pick up just their second away league win of the season, having trailed a topsy-turvy affair heading into the final 15 minutes.

Perry Whiteley and Brad Walker exchanges converted tries inside the opening quarter before the boot of Ryan Shaw nudged the Raiders 8-6 ahead with less than 30 minutes gone.

Whiteley’s second saw the Raiders fall behind again, but they would go on to have the final say in the first half as Shane Toal was in the right place at the right time to touch down the loose ball after Josh Wood was denied moments earlier by some valiant Rams defending.

Shaw single-handedly helped the Raiders to a 22-12 lead before the midway stage of the second period, knocking over another penalty before producing a flying finish in the corner after the ball was shifted left through hands.

However, Dewsbury – who had picked up just one Championship win all season heading into Sunday – scored twice in quick succession through Bailey O’Connor, and the boot of Calum Turner saw them move two points ahead.

With less than 10 minutes left, the Raiders earned themselves a penalty and opted to take the two, Shaw making no mistake as he levelled the scores.

With time running out and both teams searching for the winning moment, Walker slotted home a drop-goal to make it 25-24 before Josh Wood capped off an impressive display by breaking from the base of the scrum and racing over from 20m out to seal victory with the final play of the game.

Sunday’s result keeps the Raiders 11th in the table, with the two teams sat a point below them – Swinton Lions and Whitehaven – also winning.

Swinton are next up for the Raiders on Sunday, in a crucial fixture at the Northern Competitions Stadium in the fight to avoid the drop.

Tickets for that game can be purchased here.

DEWSBURY RAMS 24

Tries: Whiteley 2, O’Connor 2

Goals: Turner 4

BARROW RAIDERS 31

Tries: Walker, Toal, Shaw, Wood

Goals: Shaw 7

Drop-goals: Walker

Paul Crarey reaction

Hear from Raiders head coach Paul Crarey following Sunday’s victory on the road.

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