Yorkshire Carnegie 27-30 London Scottish
A last-minute Peter Lydon penalty and a stunning defensive performance gave London Scottish victory against table-topping Yorkshire Carnegie at Headingley on Saturday.
Full-back Lydon nervelessly kicked the 35m penalty in the 80th minute to ensure captain Mark Bright’s 100th appearance for the Richmond club was a winning one.
Drew Locke, Lydon and Bright all scored tries and coach Peter Richards hailed the display.
He said: “In terms of performance, it’s the best I’ve seen in my time here, a year and a bit, it was fantastic.
“What a contribution on Mark Bright’s 100th game.”
Lydon added: “Our defence was unbelievable, it really was, I think that ultimately won us the game.”
Carnegie eased to a 10-0 lead courtesy of a Joel Hodgson penalty and a try for centre James Fitzpatrick, which came from a strong driving maul and a cute dummy from scrum-half Chris Pilgrim.
Locke hit back for Scottish immediately after a typically robust Bright line break.
Lydon’s try and unnerving boot moved Scottish into a 17-5 lead, but they were pegged back by a try for Carnegie winger Seb Stegmann, before the full-back’s second penalty left the half-time score at 20-15.
Carnegie started the second half brightly, a driving maul gave Charlie Beech a try and Joel Hodgson’s conversion put them ahead.
Bright’s try gave Scottish the lead with half an hour remaining, but Andy Forsyth’s try with two minutes left looked to have rescued a draw for Carnegie.
However, Lydon came to the fore once again, his penalty completing a Scottish smash and grab which leaves them third in the Championship – two points behind Carnegie.
Feature image of London Scottish captain Mark Bright
