But it may be more appropriate to describe it as a match of quite startling contrasts.
The stunned disbelief in which the Halifax faithful accepted the referee's final whistle was completely opposite to the delirium roared by the Wharfedale followers in a healthy-sized crowd who had witnessed a turnaround of epic proportions.
Halifax were applauded off the field at half-time in scenes not witnessed at Ovenden Park for some time.
They had completely dominated the opening 40 minutes and deservedly opened up a commanding 27-6 lead.
But the second half saw them lose the initiative in agonising fashion and fail to register a single point as Wharfedale seized their opportunities and used all their experience to claw back the deficit and secure victory with the final act of a dramatic encounter.
They were helped by Halifax No 8 Richard Brown spending 10 minutes in the cooler early in that second period, the referee deciding he had infringed once too often when Wharfedale were hammering at the Halifax door.
In that period the visitors rattled up 12 points. They then brought on players with hatfuls of first team appearances and turned the screw to grind down a tiring Halifax pack and exploit the gaps superbly.
Poor Dave Hall experienced the greatest contrasts of all. A two try hero in a man of the match first half performance, he came inside to try and make an interception deep into injury time at the end with Halifax holding a slender lead.
The ball skimmed his fingertips but Wharfedale had a two man overlap on the short side and they worked the try at pace with Mark Bedworth, wasteful with the boot throughout the match, banging over the game clinching conversion.
Unbelievable.
The result was hard to take because Halifax, with Rhys Morgan and Richard Szabo now calling the shots following Kevin McCallion's decision to stand down, were unstoppable during a stunning first half onslaught.
Morgan had said his team would play heads up rugby and they did with some style. Some of the pace and the off-loading were a joy to watch with Tom Eaton an excellent playmaker alongside the sniping runs of Craig Aikman.
Joe Knowles gave another eagle-eyed demonstration of the goalkicker's art with a second minute penalty from 23 metres that was as fierce as it was true.
Bedworth replied with one of his few successes on an afternoon that saw him squander four out of eight opportunities.
The first of those misses should have put Wharfedale ahead but Bedworth's kick was far too low and well off-target.
The visiting centre's next effort gave his side a 6-3 lead but a superb move saw Eaton show great determination before slipping the ball to James Endersby. He took the long way around the defence before bringing Hall into play and the long-legged winger broke clear to touch down, Knowles adding an excellent conversion.
Knowles added a penalty for 13-6 before the home contingent were treated to another wonderful try. Superb handling and deft off-loads saw Eaton break the spine of the Wharfedale defence before feeding Gareth Lewis, who burst through flimsy cover, Knowles showing nerve and accuracy with the kick.
If that seemed too good to be true then it got even better. Fantastic defence from Halifax close to their own line thwarted and frustrated Wharfedale.
And when the visitors tried to spin the ball wide, Hall showed great anticipation to pluck the ball out of the air and set off down the pitch with Wharfedale chasers giving up the ghost one by one.
Knowles obliged with another difficult touchline conversion but then missed a penalty in front of the posts.
Wharfedale second row Anthony Capstick knocked on when a try looked certain and at 27-6 with 40 minutes to go, everything in the garden was rosy.
Or was it?
Within five minutes of the restart Brown had received his card for a professional foul as Wharfedale piled on the pressure close to the line.
And a team of their guile needed no further invitation, Robert Baldwin plunging over following a drive from a lineout before the same player again profited as a swift attack opened Halifax up on the blind side, Bedworth converting.
Halifax were struggling to get their hands on the ball but Bedworth missed yet another penalty in front of the posts.
The home side were forced into changes with Phil Skillen and Aikman withdrawn through injury, Martin Smith and Ryan Walsh coming on.
But it was becoming increasingly obvious that the initiative was now with a pumped up Wharfedale side.
Whereas in the first half the ball was played through hands, increasingly both sides applied boot to ball and it seemed to work in Wharfedale's favour.
The Halifax pack seemed to lose some of their edge and as Wharfedale gained the upper hand all over the pitch Chris Malherbe off-loaded for fullback Andrew Hodgson to steam in and make it 27-23 in Halifax's favour.
Wharfedale had their tails up and Halifax hung on grimly, again showing some real spirit in defence as wave after wave of pressure was beaten back.
It seemed as though the home side might have escaped when sustained pressure was relieved by Eaton's towering kick upfield.
But Wharfedale summoned up one last decisive burst of energy and when Hall made his fateful misjudgement, Neil Baggett was on hand to capitalise with Bedworth compounding the agony by making his last kick count.

Star Player
Damned if you do and damned if you don't.
On the first half showing alone there would be no better candidate for the first three points of the season than Dave Hall.
Defensively sound, he also showed his attacking capabilities with two great tries, one a length of the field effort. But then came that misjudgement of the long pass that set up Wharfedale for their winning score.
Richard Brown was immense at the back of the scrum. But then came his yellow card and in the time he was absent Wharfedale began their comeback with 12 unanswered points.
Can those two moments be counted against an all round contribution? Looking at the final score they can.
But what the heck. Hall beat himself up a hundred times over his error after the final whistle, but nothing can detract from the moments of joy in the first half when he had the home fans on their feet.
And Brown looks a more than willing worker in the pack, possessing strength and a great awareness.
There were a number of candidates on the first half showing alone when the whole team could have picked up points.
But Richard White was a towering presence throughout in the second row and his willingness to plough on and put in the hard graft also put his name firmly in the frame.

Match Facts
Halifax: Knowles, Hall, Endersby, McGee, Mitchell, Eaton, Aikman, Blades, Kay, T McArthur, White, Harrison, Skillen, Lewis, Brown. Replacements: Walsh (Aikman 71), Townsend, Smith (Skillen 68), J McArthur (T McArthur 73)
Tries: Hall (2), Lewis
Con: Knowles (3)
Pens: Knowles (2)
Drop Goals: None
Yellow Cards: Brown (professional foul, 47)
Red Cards: None

Wharfedale: Hodgson, N Baggett, Malherbe, Bedworth, Hutchinson, A Baggett, Doherty, Horner, Hindle, Steel, Lister, Capstick, Muckalt, O'Neill, Baldwin. Replacements: Dickinson (Steel 60), Peel (Horner 49), Clements (O'Neill 42), Hart (Hutchinson 60)
Tries:Baldwin (2), Hodgson, N Baggett
Cons: Bedworth (2)
Pens: Bedworth (2)
Drop Goals: None
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None

Referee: Andrew Taylorson (RFU)

Player Points
WORKOUT WAREHOUSE PLAYER OF THE SEASON: 3 Dave Hall; 2 Richard White; 1 Richard Brown.