A SUCCESSFUL penalty with the last play of the game denied Cinderford all the points on a dull afternoon at Dockham Road.

The Foresters looked like they might have edged it when Mike Holden scored a try on his debut in an action-packed final 10 minutes.

But they were reeled back in when Chinnor full-back Nick Smith was on target with the kick.

Cinderford started the afternoon brightly against the Oxfordshire side and it was Nathan Taylor who opened the scoring with an unconverted try.

A kick was charged down after five minutes to provide Cinderford with the platform to open the scoring.

The ball bounced over the try-line and Chinnor scrum-half Luke Carter won the race to touch down for a goal-line drop-out.

Cinderford came back at the visitors with Holden on the right wing almost gathering a cross-field kick from fly-half Mike Wilcox.

The referee blew for a penalty and Cinderford kicked to the corner.

Hooker Taylor was driven over to claim his 10th try of the season.

That was the highlight of the first 40 minutes with the rest being contested in midfield with few scoring opportunities.

Cinderford led 5-0 at the break but it was the visitors who took the initiative as the home line-out malfunctioned.

They took the lead in the 65th minute when prop Josh Pieterse crossed for a try. Smith added the conversion.

When Chinnor second row Oliver Curry was shown a straight red for foul play, the home crowd sensed this was the opportunity for Cinderford to secure the points.

Another cross-field kick – this time from Will Baldwin – found Holden who crossed for the try to put Cinderford back in front.

The conversion went wide but Cinderford had a three-point advantage with less than five minutes remaining.

With the final whistle beckoning, Cinderford were penalised at a ruck some 15m from their line.

The visitors opted for the penalty and Smith held his nerve to secure what was a fair result.

On Saturday, Cinderford make the long trip to Humberside to face bottom club Hull who have yet to win after nine games.

Cinderford: Mike Austin, Mike Holden, Will Baldwin, George Boulton, Will Hendy, Mike Wilcox, Jimmy Williams, George Porter, Nathan Taylor, Shaun Knight, Tyler Jerrum, Jonny Holliday, Matt Lane, Aaron Ryan, Harry Hone (capt.)

Replacements: Alex Chalkin, Sam Baker, Dec Fissenden, Dan Hodge, Jamie Forrester.