A LAST gasp try in poor conditions allowed Luctonians to close the gap at the top of the Midlands Premier to four points at Christmas.

A late Josh Watkins try was all that separated the Mortimer Park side from dropping points to bottom Syston, with Lucs eventually winning 26-19.

Despite being two tries up in the first half through powerful Alex Smith and Drew Cheshire efforts the travelling Luctonians allowed their host back into the tie 12-7 at half-time.

The pace of Josh Watkins looked to have secured the victory with a third try early in the second half.

However,12 unanswered points allowed basement side Syston to level with just nine minutes left on the clock.

Watkins was on hand to save the Lucs' blushes and secure them a vital bonus point with just four minutes remaining.

"It was close the way the conditions were with a really strong wind was always going to be a leveller," said Luctonians Head Coach Ryan Watkins.

"I'm really pleased with the result. We knew we had to go there get the points and get out of there, which we did.

"There is a couple of things we could have done to make sure towards the end of the game. But at the same time it was not going to be a big score so to get four tries in those conditions says a lot for the boys.

"When we had the lead we relaxed a little bit and thought that they weren't going to come back in those conditions.

"However, a couple of mistakes saw them come back with nine minutes left when there wasn't going to be many chances.

"We had one shot and took it. It didn't matter what the score was, we came away with five points and no injuries.

"They are a team who are fighting at home and the conditions were a leveller so they had every chance."

With title rivals Scunthorpe and Bridgnorth failing to pick-up bonus point victories the win allowed Luctonians to narrow the gap on top to four points.

The players will be training as usual throughout the festive period in preparation for the visit to Mortimer Park of promotion rivals Newport on January 5.