Winnington Park 25 Anselmians 24

WINNINGTON Park continue to put pressure on the South Lancs/Cheshire Division One leaders after a win against Anselmians sent them third on Saturday.

However it was victory by the narrowest of margins for the hosts, who had tries from Matt Cross, Harry Stubbs and Fraser Lindsay to thank.

It was Cross who found the try line first with a great bit of individual skill, grubber-kicking the ball behind the defence and chasing through to touch down.

Park soon had more points on the board after an offside in midfield allowed Jack Williams to extend their lead.

From their first attack, Anselmians showed their ability and found the centre running a good line., hHe cut the defence for a converted score.

After turning the ball over following the restart Park attacked down the blindside,. wWhen the ball did come wide a miss pass in the backs eventually reached Stubbs, who beat the last man to score.

Having added the extras, Park’s defence set the tone and kept the large Anselmians forwards at bay until the break.

Anselmians’ kicking was keeping Park in their own half and the visitors added three points when the hosts were deemed offside.

However, when Park did break, some good ball retention and quick hands allowed Lindsay to accelerate away from the covering defence to add a converted score.

Williams’ boot increased Park’s advantage moments later, but when a clearance kick bounced almost back to where it was executed, Anselmians pounced.

It set up a nervy last few minutes, especially when a penalty narrowed the difference to one point.

Park tried to attack and almost gifted the visitors the win, but they were unable to finish the move.