Kingstone Press League One: London Skolars 10 Barrow Raiders 20

London Skolars will have to win their next three matches to have any chance of making the top half when the Kingstone Press League One splits in two following a 20-10 loss at home to Barrow Raiders.

Skolars pushed the third-placed Raiders hard, but the defeat means that they can afford no further slip-ups before the league splits in mid-July.

Both sides forced goal-line drop outs early on, but it was the hosts who took the lead when player/coach Jermaine Coleman slipped out a short to Lamont Bryan that opened up the defence and Jy-Mel Coleman added the conversion.

The Cumbrians levelled the scores when Martin Aspinwall ducked underneath a tackle before passing to Oliver Wilkes, who scored under the posts.

London regained the lead when Coleman’s pass gave Josh Allison some room to attack and score on the right, though the conversion was missed.

The advantage for the New River Stadium club was short-lived as Nathan Mossop looked to move the ball left, before dashing over the tryline himself.

Barrow then moved further clear through a penalty.

The half ended with Skolars camped on the Raiders line, but it was the visitors who started the next period stronger.

Despite missing a couple of early try opportunities, the Cumbrians extended their lead with another Lewis Charnock penalty.

When Lamont Bryan was stopped short of the line, a penalty was given to London, but Bryan was sin-binned.

Despite being a man down Skolars raised their game and started to dominate.

Jordan Williams was prevented by a high tackle from scoring on his debut, but despite a period of sustained pressure Barrow kept their composure.

With Charnock off with for head injury assessment, Jamie Dallimore kicked penalty goals in the last five minutes to put the game out of London’s reach.

Next up for Skolars is the long trip to Workington Town this Saturday, when they know that any result other than a win will end their hopes of making the top half.