CHORLEY Lynx missed a great chance of closing the gap at the top of National League Division Two when they could only draw with strugglers Dewsbury Rams at Victory Park.
But it was more than they had looked like getting at half-time after a woeful first half performance saw them trail 14-0 leading coach Mark Lee to question their desire to win during the break.
They answered his question when they battled back in the second half to dominate the visitors.
In the end, though, they could only match to snatch a dramatic draw right on the final hooter with a conversion from Brian Capewell following a last minute try from Martin Gambles.
Lynx coach Mark Lee said: "Before the game if you offered me a draw I would have said it was a point lost but now after the game I can say that is is a point gained.
"We had no cohesion especially in the first half and I felt that Dewsbury were marginally the better side
" I kept calm at half time but I did question their desire to win and they answered the question in the second half. Our forwards were disappointing in the first half but they improved in the second half and took the game to Dewsbury.
"It was disappointing to concede the try in the second half but somebody clocked off in defence and allowed the kick over to be caught.
"It is good to bring someone of the calibre of Danny Arnold to the club but it is a pity that we did not put on a show to welcome him."
The opening phases of the first half was a dour affair with both defences on top and try scoring chances at a premium and Dewsbury took the lead in the 19th minute with an Adam Thaler penalty after Lynx were penalised for a high tackle.
Dewsbury extended their lead as Lynx struggled to make an impact as an attacking force.
Just when it seemed that Lynx would go in at half time trailing by eight points disaster struck as Ian Kirk slipped through a would be tackle to touch down under the posts and with Adam Thaler added the conversion to give Dewsbury a 14-0 advantage at half time. The second half saw a different Lynx as they reduced the deficit within a minute of the re-start with a try from Danny Barton, Brian Campbell adding the conversion.
Lynx were now dominant but it took them until the 47th minute to touch down again through Jamie Stenhouse who reacted quickest to a cross field bomb from Martin Gambles.
Five minutes later the scores were level when debut player Danny Arnold managed to latch on to a loose ball to touch down.
It now appeared only a matter of time before Lynx sealed the game but they were caught out in the 60th minute when Adam Thaler chipped over the Lynx defence and Mark Stubley was on hand to collect and touch down with Adam Thaler adding the conversion.
The closing stages saw Lynx lay siege to the Dewsbury try line but all to no avail and just when it seemed all was lost Lynx finally managed to open up the Dewsbury defence for Martin Gambles to touch down and Brian Campbell to add the conversion to snatch a point at the death.
Man of the match for Lynx was John Hill.
Lynx play Workington Town on Sunday.
Final score: Chorley Lynx 20 Dewsbury Rams 20
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