BRAVE Huddersfield Giants gave it everything they could.
But in the end, they were denied by the narrowest of margins as they fell to an agonising 16-14 Super League XXI defeat to in-form Catalans Dragons in the South of France.
It was a contest that could have gone either way as the Giants maintained the improvement that had brought three wins from their previous four League and Cup encounters.
And the magnificent reception the players received from the strong travelling claret and gold army after the final whistle underlined what a big effort they had produced.
On another day it could have been more than enough to have returned home with the two League points safely tucked away.
The Giants certainly put themselves in a position to win the game after a strong first-half showing.
They more than matched their in-form hosts and could easily have boasted more than the narrow 8-6 interval advantage.
For the opening quarter, there was absolutely nothing to separate the sides, with the deadlock not being broken until the 25th minute when Danny Brough knocked over a penalty after he’d been caught by a late Greg Mounis tackle.
And with the visitors enjoying the challenge, it was no great surprise when they extended their lead four minutes later.
A strong move down the right led to Jermaine McGillvary kicking ahead and earning his side a repeat set from a scrum, paving the way for Ryan Hinchcliffe to feed Nathan Mason to crash over under the posts for Brough to add the extras.
At 8-0 the Giants were looking good.
But seven minutes before the break, the Dragons fired their way back into the contest when Louis Anderson burst onto a short ball and charged over. Pat Richards converted and the lead was back down to two points.
Kyle Wood almost grabbed the Giants second try moments later but was held up over the tryline, while great Ryan Brierley defence prevented Todd Carney from touching down.
However, with Huddersfield playing into the strong breeze in the opening 40, there was no doubt the visitors were looking in a very promising position.
Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to bother the Dragons, who took the lead for the first time in the 50th minute when Jodie Broughton patted back a kick to the corner for Justin Horo to collect and cross with ease, although Richards failed with the relatively straightforward conversion.
It was a score that really got the Dragons tails up and they extended their advantage eight minutes later on the back of a couple of penalties as Tony Gigot crossed through an increasingly overworked defence for a try that Richards this time goaled.
All credit to the Giants, though.
Rather than dwelling on the loss of their lead, they regrouped and upped the ante, deservedly reducing the deficit to two points in the 67th minute as the ball was kept alive for Jake Connor to step impressively through for Brough to add the extras.
In the final moments, Huddersfield did everything to try and grab the winning score, forcing the Dragons to drop-put for the first time in the closing moments.
But it was ultimately to end in bitter disappointment.
The Giants Under 19s suffered a 39-26 Academy defeat to unbeaten leaders Catalans Dragons in a curtain-raiser to the Stade Gilbert Brutus Super League clash.
