Home advantage wasn’t quite enough for Deal & Betteshanger as Aylesford edged the London 3 South East points 16-13 on Saturday in one of the best games seen at the Drill Field this season.

Aylesford went ahead when Deal gave away a penalty after 15 minutes for offside but Martin Robinson restored parity from 35 metres.

With promising scrum-half Ollie Schofield impressing whenever he had possession, the Lions were proving tough opposition for third-placed Aylesford to break down but the visitors re-took the lead with a second penalty on the 20-minute mark.

As the first half wore on, the hosts gained in confidence and stretched Aylesford’s defence several times without finding the killer pass.

There was every reason to be confident, however, as Deal would have the elements in their favour after the break.

Things began badly, though, when the Lions conceded an early try after a flowing Aylesford three-quarter move. This prompted several changes, with Sam Hanley, John De-Roebeck and Dan Atkinson entering the fray.

Inspired by new player-coach Peter King, who displayed some shrewd tactical kicking, the hosts began to fight back and from a King kick into the right-hand corner, Lions scored their first try. The awkward bounce wrong-footing two defenders for Nathan Mitford to gather and score to the left of the posts.

Crucially for Aylesford, the gap was not reduced further after Deal missed the conversion.

Mathew Michael left the field after a yellow card and things got worse for the home side when Bulls scored an unconverted try. Hart’s touchdown after good work by Robinson gave Deal hope but another missed conversion signalled it was not to be their day.

The Lions have no fixture this weekend.