National Conference League amateurs Castleford Lock Lane entertained the League 1 professionals of Rochdale Hornets in a Betfred Challenge Cup third round tie hoping for a repeat of their second round upset when the unceremoniously booted another Leaguel 1 side - Oldham - out of the competition.
Up for grabs was a home game in the fourth round against Championship side Barrow Raiders.
The hosts kicked off into wind and rain on a muddy field, bringing a real taste of grassroots rugby to the Cup. But it was the Hornets who scored first when front rower Ben Killan powered over after just three and half minutes, a Lewis Sheridan conversion ading a further sting and giving the visitors a 0-6 lead.
Minutes later Ryan Forshaw added anoather try and a Sheridan conversion to double the Hornets lead to 0-12.
But successive penalties given away by the professionals gave Lock Lane their first pressure on the Rochdale line, with a repeat set starting just 10 metres out. Twolst-tackle kicks by the half backs put the ball into the right-hand corner of Rochdales in-goal for Craig Duncan to touch down and open the hosts account. The conversion reduced the hosts' deficit to 6-12.
That led to a period of sustained pressure on the Hornets' line, but it came to nothing when they knocked on over the line.
And 20 minutes, the match boiled over with Craig Siddons of Lock Lane shown a yellow after back-to-back penalties against the hosts.
Veteran pack member Sean Penkywicz duly powered over after the penalty for a 6-16 lead, which Sheridan duly extended to 6-18.
With the amateurs a man down, the professional mights have expected to extend their lead further, but a knock-on from the kick off saw Lock Lane set up camp on their line and half-back Callum Butler burrowed over. Lewis Price kicked his second conversion for a 12-18 scoreline.
It was the resilience of the Castleford team that had got them this far in the competition and was on show again as they went through a purple patch which frustrated Rochdale and saw penalties conceded in their danger zone again. But once more, a promising attack ended with a knock-on by Lock Lane.
With half-time looming, a dynamic run by winger Cian Tyrer made it look like Rochdale would have the final say of the half, but the attack petered out with a pass into touch, followed by another another attack ending in a double knock-on.
With both teams now playing in the grey-brown of the River Aire flood plain's mud, there really was little to separate them as referee Mannifield blew for half time.
Lock Lane kept up the pressure when the game resumed, forcing the Hornets to kick from inside their own 10m and winning a penalty from the kick when Tyrer unwisely offered afters after tackling the kick receiver – and that was followed by the game's second yellow card, this time for a Rochdale player.
But the visitors weathered that storm and conceded nothing in the 10-minute reduction as handling errors and penalties dominated play with a muddy ball on a muddy field.
15 minutes into the half-though, Lock Lane's interference at the play-the-ball gave the visitors a kickable penalty and Sheridan duly kicked the goal which took the Hornets' lead out to two scores at 12-20.
Lock Lane were starting to lose their discipline and Morgan Punchard found himself going for a 10-minutes rest, being shown a yellow card for punching a grounded Hornet with 15 minutes of the game left)
A high tackle in front of Lock Lane's sticks saw the another red card shown to Ben Mawson and the game was effectively over the Castleford team.
Rochdale made that official with a Penkywicz try, converted once more by Sheridan for a 12-26 score with the final hooter looming. Punchard then gave away another penalty for to bring Rochdale close to the sticks and, for a final act, he put a high tackle on Penkywicz, who kicked the penalty himself for the final act of the game.
So the Leaguel 1 team progress into Round 4, while Lock Lane rest on the record of a run to the third round, while ruing a lack of discipline in the mud of their home ground
Score Progression: 0-0, 0-4, 0-6, 0-10, 0-12, 4-12, 6-12, 6-16, 6-18, 10-18, 12-18. Half-Time: 12-20, 12-24, 12-26, 12-28.
Half-Time: 12-18.
Full-Time: 12-28.
Castleford Lock Lane: Price (2G); Bloomer, Duncan (T), O'Connor, Moon; Fozzard, Butler (Butler); Smith, Askill, Cranswick, Newbould, Holmes, Siddon. Replacements: Punchard, Brock, Robinson, Mawson (red card 72).
Rochdale Hornets: Sheridan (4G, P); Nixon, Calland (T), Ashton, Tyrer; Forshaw (T), Green; Moimoi, Penkywicz (2T, P), Killan , Marriott, Forster, Baker. Replacements: Askey, Davies, Grainey, Parnaby.
Referee: M Mannifield
Venue: Lock Lane Sports Centres.
