No walk in the Park for Ormskirk

Mar 12 2009 by James Illingworth, Ormskirk Advertiser

No walk in the Park for Kirk

Ormskirk...5

Winnington Park...17

ORMSKIRK lost to a determined Winnington Park side in a frustrating afternoon at Green Lane on Saturday.

Two breakaway tries for the visitors in the first half proved crucial despite Ormskirk threatening to stage a late comeback effort. An Andy Healey try was the only positive in what was Kirk’s third home league defeat this season.

Ormskirk started the game well with stand-in skipper Ben Davis leading by example with some dynamic breaks from the back of the scrum.

Several scoring opportunities were spurned by the home side while Park looked to be offering no attacking threat. Ray Doolan was denied a certain try after 10 minutes as the referee deemed that a John Armstrong pass had floated forward.

As Ormskirk threw the ball out wide in an attempt to break down the resolute Park defence, a mistake gifted Park’s wing Dan Blades a chance to open the scoring.

Healey joined the line from full-back but failed to gather another wide pass from Armstrong. Blades gathered the loose ball and sprinted in under the posts just before Andy Wroe could catch him.

Park then doubled their advantage before half-time as further mistakes from the home side left their defence outnumbered out wide. Park’s James Annells rounded Armstrong to give the visitors a 12-0 lead at the interval.

The second period followed the pattern of the first as Kirk tried to break down Park’s defence but could not carve out any real chances. Poor handling and ill-discipline at the breakdown meant the home side could not build up any pressure.

With 20 minutes remaining Park delivered the knockout blow as Harry Stubbs crashed his way over the line after a number eight pick up on Kirk’s 22 metre line.

Ormskirk responded well as an improvised cross-field kick from Armstrong set up Healey for a try in the corner. But the home side’s hopes of a dramatic comeback were laid to rest as Park ran down the clock.

The 2nd XV won 14-7 at Marple, Pete Wright and Jamie Gregg each touching down. The 3rd XV lost 45-14 away at Wirral but the 4th team had an excellent win against Bolton 3rd’s, Gareth Owens, Tom Beech and Justin Lyon with the tries in a 26-24 triumph.O