Old Priorians fell to their fourth consecutive defeat in Regional 2 Thames as they lost 22-18 to Old Haberdashers' on Saturday afternoon, spurning a golden opportunity to win late on and thus extending their winless run at Croxdale Road to six years.

OPs started the game well and looked to exert control within the first quarter, their first points coming through the boot of Emilio Uribe after electing to kick at goal fifteen minutes in for a well merited 3-0 lead. Falling behind appeared to galvanise Habs into action, and it was they who scored the first try of the afternoon, Samuel Isaacs touching down following a backs move from the scrum set piece on the opposition 22 line.

Priorians chances were typically far and few between in the first half and forays into the host's territory were fruitless ; they paid the price for this lack of finishing as Haberdashers' got a second towards the end of the 40 minutes, Demi Obembe clearing up well from the lineout and putting scrum half Charles Favell into space, piercing the disorganised OPs backline before giving the final pass to fly half Christopher Bell, converting his own effort with the score now 12-3.

A poor restart by the Twisters allowed Habs centre Joey Gatus the chance to run from deep, offloading to the support runners who then finished the job and turn the game on its head as the half time whistle blew following a successful kick - 19-3 at the break.

OPs had it all to do in the second half but rose to the challenge ; able to dominate in the main, they clawed back seven points via Guy Djedje's second try of the season, coming after Luis Gomez-Rose's break from the back of the maul, Uribe adding the extras. The good work was partially undone minutes later after giving a penalty away in a kickable position for Habs, Bell stepping up to slot the ball between the sticks and advance the score to 22-10 just before the hour.

A tip tackle by Favell on Twisters scrum half Michael Jobling saw the former yellow carded to take Habs down to fourteen men with 60 minutes played, the ensuing lineout and rolling maul seeing Gomez-Rose eventually ground the ball, OPRFC now within a score with enough time left on the clock to pull off what would be an impressive comeback.

Uribe added three more with ten minutes to go for 22-18, Old Haberdashers' looking somewhat stretched with the player disadvantage. As Habs began conceding penalty after penalty, OPs were well set to finally regain their lead five minutes from time with a tap and go penalty, only for the ball to be spilled forward going into contact and so spurning the most golden of chances for victory.

A second yellow for Favell for a professional foul - again on Jobling - meant he was sent off on 78 minutes as Priorians launched one final attack deep into the 22. It came to nought, however, and Habs were able to kick the ball out of play to end the match and win their first match of the season.

The narrative of the 80 minutes should be read very much as Old Haberdashers' making the most of their opportunities and Old Priorians doing the opposite ; while Habs certainly rode their luck a little, their ability on the counter and generally solid defence saw them come away with the points.

A two week break now for the Twisters, who remain seventh in Regional 2 Thames going into the fixture against H.A.C

OPRFC SCORERS

T : Djedje, Gomez-Rose

C : Uribe

P : Uribe 2