Hull Ionians 17 Harrogate 19: Broadley in at the double as Ionians are sunk by Harrogate

Ionians produced a strong finish but were held too far out and three attempted goals by James Ferguson, two drops and one penalty, all went wide, denying them a victory that was there for the taking.

Ionians controlled the opening minutes and a high tackle and offside brought them two long-range penalties, Ferguson being successful with his second attempt.

Harrogate at last gained possession and ground and counter-attacked off a deep clearance with a cross-kick by Ed Smithies finding James Broadley, who kicked ahead to score, Mike Aspinall converting from the touchline.

Ionians scored twice in two minutes, starting in the 20th minute. Good play by Steve Slingsby and James Greene saw them switch passes twice to suck in the cover before Danny Hague made ground to send Adam Thomas between the posts, Ferguson converting.

Straight from the restart, both sides lost the ball then Mark Wigham intercepted and raced in from halfway, Ferguson converting before being short with a 45-metre penalty.

After the break, for the next quarter Ionians never saw the ball and Harrogate crossed the line twice.

On 46 minutes, Aspinall squeezed over but lost the ball in the tackle and when the subsequent clearance off the line missed touch, Ed Smithies ran in.

Eight minutes later and after some untidy play the ball was flicked out to the wing and Broadley ran clear for his second try, going between the posts for an easy conversion, which gave Harrogate the lead.

Ionians withstood further pressure even after a yellow card and then raised their game at the finish. A good kick to the corner by Ferguson just eluded Slingsby and then a long-range penalty went wide.