READING Abbey blew an 11-point lead as they were edged out 19-17 by 14-man Aylesbury in their Southern Counties North encounter at Rose Hill.

Abbey had the better of the opening quarter-of-an-hour and took a deserved lead when Olly Walton landed a lengthy penalty, rubbing salt into the wounds of the visitors who had No. 8 Gary Horne sin-binned for a late tackle.

Aylesbury hit back and put some pressure on the hosts, only for a magnificent breakaway try to extend Abbey's advantage.

George Pawlett risked conceding a penalty for a deliberate knock-on as he got a hand in the way of an Aylesbury pass, but able to cling onto the ball, he then off-loaded to captain Will Bevan who scorched 60 metres down the right touchline to touch down for a fine score.

Walton added the extra to make it 10-0, although he did pull a 30-metre penalty effort wide shortly after.

Abbey thought they had scored a second try before half-time, Dave Canham racing in down the left flank, but it was ruled out as Jules Greenaway's pass was deemed to have been forward.

The hosts were then given a major boost as Horne was given a second yellow card and harshly sent off for an infringement at the breakdown.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Nicky Mercer landed a penalty for Aylesbury early in the second half, and he doubled their tally shortly after when flanker Matt Simmons was yellow carded for a high tackle.

Abbey rallied, though, and Bevan sniped over from close range for his second following a wave of attacks, Walton converting to make it 17-6.

However, that was as good as it got for the home side, whose line-out completely fell apart as mistakes crept in across the board.

Aylesbury sensed a way back into the contest despite being a man down, and Mercer landed his third penalty to cut the gap to eight points.

They ramped up the pressure shortly after when wing Matt Dennis was stopped just short of the line, only for Ben Seagrave to burrow over, and they grabbed another try to take the lead through Andy Hackett on 67 minutes.

Abbey tried to hit back, but they fell short in the end.

Reading Abbey return to action at Bicester on Saturday, December 1.

BERKSHIRE Shire Hall – who host Winslow on Saturday – beat Harwell 45-5 in the BB&O Championship.