POCKLINGTON suffered another heavy defeat in the North Premier - but not before they had given it a real go away to the league's biggest spenders, Preston Grasshoppers.

Pock took the game to the table-toppers throughout the first half, only for nothing to go their way after the break as they succumbed to a 53-0 loss leaving them third bottom.

Playing on a 3G plastic pitch for the first time, Pocklington faced a semi-pro line-up containing former Premiership and Championship players recruited from across the north of England. To add insult to injury they saw several big decisions go against them - including having a first-half try disallowed and seeing two men harshly sin-binned for technical offences in the closing stages.

Pock were the first to show but Preston demonstrated how dangerous they were on the counter attack, breaking away down the right and, despite dropping the ball in midfield, scoring wide left. The conversion was also good.

Pocklington came again through number eight Jack Holbrough and lock Archie Fothergill, with Dan Elliot seeing a penalty attempt slide just wide.

For the next 20 minutes, they battered at the Preston line, only to fail to make the final breakthrough.

Prop Sam Garvey twice got over the whitewash at the side of the posts but the referee ruled held up both times - though most other onlookers were convinced he had scored on the first occasion.

Preston, though, weathered the storm, then broke out to kick a penalty on 39 minutes to go 10-0 up.

Then in first-half injury time Pocklington were again outflanked for Preston to go into the interval 15 points to the good.

After shipping a try to the last play of the first half, Pock suffered a body blow when a slick raid saw the home side cross again in the first minute of the second.

The visitors regrouped but Preston had more stars on the bench and moved up another level in the final quarter.

Pock kept tackling anything and everything they could, but Preston's offloading and pace started to be decisive and a couple more scores took the home side out of sight.

Pock never gave in but knew it was not their day as Owen Jackson and Will Norris were yellow-carded for infringements at the breakdown and in a scrum.

Despite being down to 13 men and the game long lost, Pocklington threw everything at trying to snatch a consolation score and battered at the home line again in the dying minutes.

But their riposte ran out of steam and they had the ball stolen from them for Preston to go the full length to rub salt into wounds with a final score.