North Wales Crusaders came agonisingly close to pulling off a victory over league favourites Oldham in Colwyn Bay, leaving head coach Carl Forster proud of his players' effort.
Crusaders had raced into an early lead as welsh international Ben Evans crashed over the line to open the scoring before the hosts doubled their lead just under ten minutes later.
Oldham, who are odds on favourites for promotion this season, hit back with two tries of their own before the break, but failed conversions gave Forster's side a 12-8 advantage.
The second-half followed similar fashion with Kieran Taylor and debutant Olly Davies both breaking the Oldham defence to give Crusaders a 24-8 lead with 50 minutes on the clock.
However, the Roughyeds showed their class, and with time on their side levelled the score with two minutes remaining.
As Crusaders pushed to hang onto the draw, Oldham's Danny Craven slotted over a long-range drop goal to seal the two points for the visitors.
Following the game, a frustrated Crusaders head coach Carl Forster expressed pride in his side's performance: "I thought we were outstanding today, and the best team lost.
"They're a championship side, and they ground us down to a point where we had little on the bench, but then they get the game to a point where they've got time on their side.
"However, I can't fault any of our lads out there, that's by far our best performance of the season and that sets the standard now for the rest of the season.
"If we turnout like that for the rest of the year, we won't go far wrong."
North Wales Crusaders are next in action on Sunday 16th June when we welcome Workington Town to Stadiwm CSM.
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