Luctonians 26 pts Bedford Athletic 17

LUCTONIANS' gained a hard-earned but deserved victory over Bedford which left the two rivals level on points at the top of the Powergen Midlands 1 table, with Walsall - this Saturday's visitors to Mortimer Park - only one point behind with a game in hand.

As expected, it was a close encounter in which Luctonians, crucially, had the better of the forward battle to limit the amount of ball received by the dangerous Bedford backs.

Hooker Gareth Miles won several balls against the head and it was a generally impressive performance by the home pack.

The teams scored three tries apiece but, whereas Bedford added only one conversion kick, full-back Jeremy Wheadon edged Luctonians ahead in the first half with three penalties and later added a conversion.

Bedford made their intentions felt from the onset and shocked the home team when full-back John Wells set up a counter-attack for centre Ollie Ryan to score a try after only six minutes and fly-half Jamie Elphick added the conversion.

His counterpart, Dan Hinton, orchestrated Luctonians' reply and Wheadon landed penalties in the 13th and 28th minutes to take the home team to within a point on the league leaders.

A fine break by wing Mark Panniers was followed by another penalty and Wheadon landed the kick from a wide angle to give Luctonians a lead they were never to relinquish.

Number eight Andy Morris then made an interception move but his unselfish final pass went astray when he appeared well placed to score himself.

Luctonians' efforts were rewarded just before half-time, however, after Andy Garrod was knocked into touch when in full flight for the left corner. The home team drove from the lineout and Miles touched down near the corner for a 14-7 lead.

Wheadon put Luctonians on the front foot at the start of the second period and Panniers increased the lead with a corner try after the ball was spun out to him from another lineout drive.

Bedford were quick to respond and wing Matt Aldwinkle collected a long, looping pass for a try which reduced the deficit to 19-12.

But Luctonians hit back within a minute through centre Jon Goodwin who burst through for a corner try and Wheadon landed the difficult conversion.

This put the home team 14 points clear with 21 minutes remaining but Bedford were far from finished in an all-action game and full-back Wells, who had been a threat throughout, broke through two tackles to score a corner try seven minutes from time.

Bedford continued to show pace and power but Luctonians defended well for a telling victory in a hotly-contested title race.