Leeds break their duck
Leeds Carnegie held off a late Worcester rally to win 26-21 at Headingley - a result that moves them off the foot of the table.
Last Updated: 13/10/07 1:15am
Leeds Carnegie held off a late Worcester rally to win 26-21 at Headingley - a result that moves them off the foot of the table.
Alberto Di Bernardo starred on his return to the starting XV to help the home side record their first triumph back in the Guinness Premiership.
The Argentinian, back in action after a hand injury, kicked a conversion, a penalty and two drop goals, to prove his value to the Leeds side.
The Warriors fought hard until the final whistle, with Matt Powell and Loki Chrichton going over in the final 15 minutes to set up a thrilling finish.
Crucial clash
However, the visitors were unable to find a way through in the closing stages, coming up just short in a contest that was already billed as a must-win for both teams.
Leeds had not won in the top flight since beating the same opponents 21-15 last February and their cause was not helped with the early sin-binning of Stuart Hooper.
The hosts' skipper saw yellow for a high tackle that allowed Shane Drahm to open the scoring with a penalty.
Leeds hit back though with a Di Bernardo drop goal and a penalty to go 6-3 ahead.
The fly-half missed another two shots at the posts but more than made up for his errors just before the break when his kick over the top set up Hooper for the game's first try.
Individual try
Worcester stayed in touch with Drahm penalties either side of half time before Jonny Hepworth provided a moment of class in an otherwise scrappy battle.
Picking up the ball on his own 22, the centre cut through the Warriors' defence like a knife through butter before showing great pace and stamina to run clear and score a fabulous solo try.
When Jon Goodridge capitalised on a dreadful error from the visitors to score a second for Leeds, the points appeared to be in the bag.
Crichton burst through to throw the Warriors a lifeline that was given an added boost when Rob Rawlinson was sent to the sin-bin.
But, in the end, they had to settle for a losing bonus point courtesy of Powell's late converted score which followed on from a second Di Bernardo drop goal.
