Northwich 3 Liverpool St Helens 20

CAPTAIN Chris Dale suffered a suspected broken arm as Northwich suffered a rare home defeat.

He left the field in the moments before half time with the score tied after both teams had kicked a penalty during a close encounter.

With Rhys Edwards also forced off with an injury, Blacks struggled to counter their guests’ domination in the second period.

Full back Dan Parkes’ three-pointer broke the deadlock, only for Chris Dutoy to match his feat at the other end shortly afterwards.

Northwich occupied their opponents’ territory and had more possession, but without converting their pressure into points.

They also missed two further penalty attempts.

With Dale and Edwards out of action, Liverpool St Helens wore down the home side after the interval.

On the front foot, they edged ahead on 52 minutes after opting to take a scum following a penalty award.

Scrum half Rob Dyer touched down following the subsequent drive with Northwich a man down after Rick Smith was sent to the sin bin as punishment for an offence committed at the maul.

The outcome wasn’t settled until the closing stages, when the hosts spilled a ball while on the attack.

Matt Cunliffe picked it up, breaking from the LSH 22 with Joe Bate on his shoulder.

He continued the move, sending John Pape clear from the halfway line to score under the posts.

Parkes’ conversion made it 15-3 to the visitors.

They added another try with two minutes left when Phil Kearns crossed at the end of a pushover following a scrum close to Blacks’ line.

Northwich, historically slow-starters, have now lost two of their first three matches in South Lancs/Cheshire Division One this season.

They visit Manchester, yet to win in three attempts, this Saturday. 

Northwich: Cartman, Dodd, Thompson, Smith, Gavin, Watts, Naylor, Chris Dale, Gallimore, Richard Dale, Edwards, Barber, Chubb, Dutoy, Simes. Replacements: Hulbert, Houghton, Last. Pen: Dutoy.