Crusaders 20 Castleford Tigers 26: Late Castleford assault ensures another day of agony for Harris

Crusaders coach Iestyn Harris insisted his players had only themselves to blame after they threw away a winning position to lose at home to Castleford.

The hosts suffered heartbreak with victory in sight for a third time this season when Rob Parker’s late try denied them.

Castleford then snatched a 26-20 victory with a last-gasp Kirk Dixon penalty adding to the misery for the home side.

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The victory strengthens Castleford’s push towards a play-off place and Crusaders remain rooted to the foot of the table.

Tigers coach Terry Matterson revealed how he tore into his team at half-time, and he was glad to come away with a win ahead of the Challenge Cup clash with Huddersfield this weekend.

Matterson said: “We really played dumb all game. I feel for Crusaders, I really do. That’s three home games that they probably should really have won.

“It is a learning experience for them and I feel for them – but not that much, I suppose.

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“I ripped into the players at half-time. I thought we were just not there and I was pleased that it was only 14-6 as that score could have been 24-6 – and really should have been. We came back and got back into it but that side has to improve massively before playing Huddersfield next week.”

Harris was visibly upset: “I lost count of the amount of errors we did in the second half but we just kept giving them a reason to stay with us in the game.

“It is extremely disappointing because I was expecting us to kick away in that second half. The players are upset and we can’t blame anyone else but ourselves. In fairness to Cas, they just dug in and stuck there.

“We have had a couple of last-minute losses against Leeds and Salford a few weeks ago and I thought they were really tough, physical games that got away from us.

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“In this one, we were dominant and there is no way they should have been with us.”

Crusaders were 14-6 up at half-time and should have been well on the road to victory after tries from Jordan Tansey, Jason Chan and Lloyd White.

Tigers had only one try, from Jordan Thompson but former Crusader Nick Youngquest got Castleford back into contention after 42 minutes before Jarrod Sammut stole a 50-metre interception try and Ben Davies got a third.

With the clock counting down, it looked like the Crusaders would hang on but Parker drove over and Dixon’s goal and late penalty were just icing on the cake.

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Crusaders: Schifcofske, Reardon, Martin, Mellars, Tansey, Witt, White, O’Hara, Withers, Moore, Winternstein, Chan, Cahill. Substitutes: J. James, Sammut, L. Williams, Flower.

Castleford: Mathers, Dixon, Youngquest, Arundel, Owen, McGoldrick, Orr, Jackson, Clark, Parker, Ferres, Jones, Hudson. Substitutes: Widders, Snitch, Thompson, B. Davies.

Referee: B Thaler (Wakefield).