Haven picked up another 2 valuable points at the South Leeds Stadium after a nervous finish.
Whitehaven's march towards an unlikely play-off appearance continued with a dramatic victory on the Cumbrian's first trip to Hunslet in seven years with Lee Gaskell missing a penalty goal after the hooter had sounded to snatch a draw for the home side.
Hunslet had pulled back from a 18 point deficit scoring 3 tries in 10 minutes after the Cumbrians had established the advantage throughout the opening hour with the home team guilty of letting opportunities go through dropping the ball on more than 1 occasion with the line begging.
It was the Cumbrians who scored the opening points after surviving an early onslaught of pressure in the opening minutes. The visitors got on the front foot after being allowed down the field through ill discipline before a perfectly placed deft kick from dummy half from Ellison Holgate allowed Ciaran Walker to score for his 11th of the campaign and extended his longest active scoring streak in the British game to 17 games. The half-back failed to add the extras in windy conditions hitting the near left hand side post. The home side came back into the contest but continued to be the architect of their own downfalls with a number of balls hitting the floor leaving the home fans exasperated.
Haven extended their lead just before the half time break through a Ciaran Walker penalty goal after Jack Kellett was slowed down at the play the ball having his leg pulled and referee Luke Bland blew for the infringement. Walker added the extra 2 points with just 5 minutes of the first half remaining. The second half started in similar fashion to the first with the Cumbrian visitors scoring early as a Jack Kellett show and allowing the half back to crash over from short range to cross for his 3rd try of the season in all competitions. Ciaran Walker was able to slot over his first conversion of the afternoon to add to his early penalty goal.
James Newton's side may have been forgiven for thinking the points were secured just short of the hour mark when Brad Brennan crossed for their third try of the contest. The opportunity arose unexpectedly from a Whitehaven drop out. Jay Weatherill's carried more than 50 metres with the wind at his back, the ball was allowed to bounce on a hard surface and couldn't be kept in the field of play by Mo Agoro on his own 10 metre line. Haven took advantage of the unexpected set with Brad Brennan barging over from short range on the end of Ellison Holgate offload. Walker's conversion meant an 18 point gap with just over as many minutes remaining.
However, recovering the short kick off the home side struck back immediately with back to back tries. Harrison Gilmore crossed in the 62nd and 66th minute respectively with carbon copy tries as the second rower dove on the end of neatly placed Lee Gaskell grubbers in behind the visiting defenders to cross the whitewash for his 2nd and 3rd try of the campaign. Dan Abram added the extras to reduce the deficit to 6 points. The home side had an opportunity to level the scores with just 8 minutes remaining. A Ciaran Walker drop goal attempt fell wide of the left hand side post and the home side came away with a 7 tackle set. Charlie Graham who had switched positions earlier in the game from full back to centre took advantage touching the ball down after breaking down the right hand side edge. Dan Abram failed to add the extras for the Cumbrians to retain a small advantage. Hunslet were then held up over the line on 2 separate occasions as they searched for the winner.
The opportunity to draw the game fell to the home side in the final seconds as Ben Pearce was penalised for a high tackle meaning Lee Gaskell had an opportunity to kick for goal to grab a point. The windy conditions saw the ball fall off the kicking tee twice before eventually being able to take his attempt. The right footed effort was wide and short of the right hand side post before the ball was allowed to bounce dead for a thrilling victory for the visitors.
