It was a familiar story for the Kempsey Cannonballs reserve grade side on Saturday, as they suffered a narrow loss on the road against the Port Macquarie Pirates.
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A horrible start to the match saw them trailing 17-0 after 20-minutes.
Their failure to find touch from penalty kicks and multiple errors were their downfall.
The side managed to mount pressure on the Pirates leading into the half-time break and Iulio Tavete marked his return from injury with a try to make it 17-7 at the break.
The Cannonballs kept the pressure on Port Macquarie to start the second half and forward Lance Byrnes crossed before a backline move resulted in Eric Kerr diving over in the corne to give the Cannons a 19-17 lead with 20-minutes remaining.
They spent the rest of the match defending their own and eventually succumbed to the pressure, losing 22-19.
