Dixon's boot rescues Tigers
Kirk Dixon held his nerve to kick a last-minute penalty for Castleford to secure his side a 26-26 draw away at Harlequins.
Last Updated: 15/04/11 11:28pm
Kirk Dixon's last-minute penalty allowed Castleford to escape from the Twickenham Stoop with a point after a 26-26 draw against Harlequins.
The winger held his nerve to level the scores at the death after the hosts had appeared on course for an unlikely victory during a thrilling finale.
Quins crossed three times in the closing 12 minutes to take the lead having trailed the Tigers, who had dominated for much of the contest, 24-10.
Tries from Luke Dorn, Tony Clubb and Andy Ellis looked set to be enough for Rob Powell's side to get back to winning ways - only for a late, late penalty to peg them back right before the final hooter sounded.
Tepid opening
There had been no suggestion of what was to come in a rather tepid opening 10 minutes that saw both sides take a cautious approach.
Ryan Hudson and Brett Ferres both went close for Castleford but it was Quins who actually broke the deadlock, Lamont Bryan racing over after excellent link-up play between Luke Gale and Dorn.
That lead was shortlived, though, with the in-form Rangi Chase delivering the try-scoring pass to gift Richard Owen the first of his two tries.
The score lifted the Tigers out of their early slumber and Chase himself nudged the visitors into the lead when he supported a break by Dixon.
The home team quickly replied through Clubb, who squeezed over from close range just moments later to drag the hosts right back into the contest.
Owen nearly grabbed a second score before half-time but did not have to wait long to touch down again after the break, with Chase once again involved.
Bamboozled
The talismanic half-back bamboozled the Quins defence with some fleet footwork before sending out a flat pass that put his winger in at the corner.
When Craig Huby's burst set up an easy run-in for Daryl Clarke, Terry Matterson's side looked on course for an eighth win of the campaign.
However, Harlequins - who had already seen an effort from Gale chalked off in the second half - gave themselves a lifeline when Dorn went over following wave-after-wave of attempts to breach the Castleford line.
Clubb crossed after 72 minutes to complete his brace and the upset looked on the cards when hooker Ellis found space to score, Gale adding his third conversion of the night to make it 26-26 with two minutes remaining.
Dixon, though, pegged them back with his fifth goal, making sure honours ended even after a pulsating 80 minutes of rugby league.
