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Butterfingers Stags slip up in play-off race
Hemel Stags lost ground in their chase for promotion by losing for the second time this season to fellow play-off chasers Huddersfield Underbank Rangers.
Stags, whose cause went unaided by Tom Watts' second-half sending off, found themselves 16 points behind the visitors half an hour in thanks to some poor handling on their part and ended up on the wrong end of a 24-34 scoreline.
Stags duly pegged them back, but the Yorkshire outfit secured victory two minutes from time over.
Chris Johnson and Neil Barrett made the first marks on the scoreboard after both sides had come close in the early exchanges.
Hemel couldn't find a way over with both Barry John Swindells and Scott Clendenning-Fenton stopped short.
Rangers made the most of Stags' inability to score, Tom Senior benefitting from a charged-down kick to widen the gao even further.
Hemel were handed a lifeline just before the break when Joseph Compton-Meyer laid off to Michael Crosby who went over, and his try was expertly converted by Swindells.
It was game on in the 44th minute when Brendan Williams' superb swerve and off load sent in winger Stuart McIntyre.
And before they knew it Stags were ahead - Marcus Rose forcing his way under a mass of bodies and Swindells boot giving the hosts the lead for the first time.
Compton-Meyer's loss of the ball proved costly as Huddersfield's Chris Leech burrowed across before Watts saw red in the 67th minute.
Barrett then missed a penalty but Lee St Hilaire's try made it 28-22 with nine minutes to go.
McIntyre repeated his earlier feat to narrow the gap to a score yet again but a tiring home side let in a late Napoleoni Vinaka try to leave them with no hope of a comeback.
Stags coach Troy Perkins said: "Our ball security in the big games has been below par and we are making too many unforced errors. When you do that against a good team they make you pay.
"We are doing well in other areas but our ball control needs to be sorted out or we won't beat top teams.
This weekend Stags travel Dewsbury Celtic, where they will hope for a win to keep the pressure on at the top of the RLCN.
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Weather for Hemel Hempstead
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -0 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 6 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -4 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South east
