THE euphoria of last week's victory over high-flying Morpeth was forgotten at a cold and damp Penrith as Malton & Norton fell to a 20-8 defeat - to be left in a perilous position once again.

Luckless M&N, denied even a losing bonus point by a last-ditch Penrith try, sit fifth from bottom in North One East but with the two teams immediately below now able to dump them in the drop zone should they win their games in hand.

It all means the clash at home to fellow strugglers Dinnington on Saturday is now a must-win encounter.

The entire game at Penrith was played in a constant drizzle on a heavy surface, which meant that any open running rugby was at a premium. Consequently, most of the game was dominated by the packs.

Penrith were first to trouble the scoreboard when Malton were caught offside at a ruck in their own half and the points were gladly accepted with seven minutes gone.

Malton should have levelled the scores five minutes later when Penrith were penalised but James Bulmer's attempt was wide of the mark.

However, he made amends on the half-hour when a Penrith player was dispatched to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on in his own 22-metre area.

Despite having the majority of possession Penrith could not penetrate the Malton defence and the half ended at 3-3.

The second half began badly for Malton when prop Liam Vaughan was sin-binned and the hosts took full advantage of the extra man through their pack.

A sustained period of pressure close to the Malton line had the visitors back pedalling and the inevitable try came after 53 minutes. The conversion took the score to 10-3 and Penrith's tails were high.

Malton's old failing of conceding too many penalties was hurting them badly as the hosts kept them penned in their own half for long periods.

It is to Malton's credit that they defended the situation well but there was nothing they could do to stop a rolling maul after the hour-mark mark as Penrith notched their second try.

It was then Malton's turn to show their strength and create problems for the hosts. Will Hughes, Vaughan and Charlie Corner were prominent in most of the good work coming from the pack, backed up by strong running from centres Nick Rangiuira and Tom Foan.

The pay-off came with 10 minutes remaining when Ali Fothergill was credited with the touchdown in the corner following good retention and driving play.

Back in touching distance, Malton strove to get the equalling score but found the home defence sound and were unable to make the breakthrough.

Instead it was Penrith who sealed their victory in injury time. What appeared to be a harmless cross-field kick should have been easily dealt with. However, the covering defender slipped on the greasy surface and the hosts had a simple touchdown - denying Malton a losing bonus point.