A RARE friendly fixture almost provided an upset as the home side's perseverance was rewarded with a rush of second half points.

But it wasn't enough as Hoppers walked away with a 41-33 victory against Kirby Lonsdale.

Missing leading points scorers Iain Bruce and Michael Lough, Hoppers turned to Gary Monaghan for their main point of attack.

Three early tries for the winger and two conversions from Martin Emmett threatened to produce a points deluge but the never-say-die attitude of the Cumbrian side ensured this was not to be.

An interception try for full back Waters, when Hoppers had seemed certain to score a fourth, stemmed the tide. Angus converted.

A John Kirkpatrick try converted by Emmett before the break restored the interval lead to 19 points.

A try for Robinson, converted by Angus, sounded the alarm bells for Hoppers but all seemed well as acting skipper Michael Bailey created the opportunity for fellow lock Josh Williams to claim Hopper's fifth try. Kirkpatrick then impressively beat two men to claim his second try and the game seemed over.

Kirkby Lonsdale had other plans, with McLaren and Hadwin running in tries as Hoppers' defence was found wanting.

On Saturday, Hoppers return to the promotion trail with a home fixture against strugglers Lichfield. Kick off is at 3pm.

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