Barrow Raiders suffered a disappointing 28-38 defeat at the Northern Competitions Stadium to Halifax Panthers in the Betfred Championship on Saturday.

Paul Crarey’s side were in the driving seat for a large portion of the game, but a late fightback from the Panthers saw them overturn a 16-point deficit to claim an important two points.

Andrew Bulman opened the evening’s scoring four minutes into the clash when a brilliant pass from Adam Jackson found Matt Costello, who fed the winger in at the corner to crash over.

The visitors found their footing in the game not long after, and back-to-back tries from Ben Tibbs and Joe Keyes put the Panthers in front.

The Raiders would hit them back with their own quickfire double, with Luke Cresswell crossing near the sticks after a pass from Jacob Douglas before the fullback would latch onto a deft chip from Ryan Johnston to put his side back into the lead.

A further conversion from Johnston following a penalty sent the hosts into the sheds at 18-12.

It appeared as though Paul Crarey’s men would run away with the result following an early barrage of tries from Costello and Cresswell, who touched down for his hattrick just ten minutes into the second-half proceedings.

But the Yorkshire side were undeterred, and they found a response five minutes later when a looping pass found James Saltonstall who ran it into the corner to reduce the deficit to 10 points.

The winger would grab his second try in the 60th minute to close the gap even further, and the pressure tolled on the Raiders when tries from Woodburn-Hall, McComb and Keyes in the final 10 minutes of the game ended a disappointing evening at the Northern Competitions Stadium.

Barrow Raiders will now look to bounce back next Sunday with a trip to Swinton Lions in the Betfred Championship.

BARROW RAIDERS 28

Tries: Bulman, Cresswell (3), Costello

Goals: Johnston (3)

Penalties: Johnston

HALIFAX PANTHERS: 38

Tries: Tibbs, Keyes (2), Saltonstall (2), Woodburn-Hall, McComb

Goals: Jouffret (2), Keyes, Widdop (2)

PAUL CRAREY REACTION

Raiders head coach Paul Crarey reacts to Saturday’s defeat at home.

LUKE CRESSWELL REACTION

Player of the Match Luke Cresswell gives his thoughts on the Raiders’ third league win of the season.


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