WINNINGTON Park, already assured of finishing bottom of the table, were taught another harsh lesson at Burrows Hill on Saturday.
After a promising start, during which they pinned back their guests and applied pressure that prompted mistakes, they capitulated to a 20th defeat of term.
- Winnington Park - fixtures and results
- Sefton 26-5 Park - this season's previous meeting
- Park 13-24 Sefton - last term's corresponding fixture
The hosts lost discipline, and were on the wrong end of a result that suggests the difference between the teams was greater than it first appeared.
“Sefton didn’t beat us – we beat ourselves,” said head coach Roger Pickering.
“I continue to believe this group has the ability to play at this level, but a lack of cohesion continues to be our downfall.
“Rugby can’t be played by individuals, and this game was a reminder of that.”
Sefton conceded a string of penalties in the first half, but the home team were unable to take advantage.
They showed glimpses of their capability, and Dave Cross scored a deserved try following fine work by the pack.
A combination of high-quality tackling by the visitors, and erratic decision-making by the hosts, prevented Park from adding to their tally.
Instead they offered little resistance as Sefton started to recover.
The away team ran in a series of unanswered tries, swelling their margin of victory to more than 30 points by full-time – a quest helped by three Winnington players spending a spell in the sin-bin.
“For the first half an hour we played with a structure we’ve been looking to engrain on the training pitch,” added Pickering.
“After that something triggered a total collapse and we completely lost our way.”
Park | Marshall, Evans, Ridgway, Cross, Moriarty, Underdown, Robins, Stubbs, Allmark, Jack Williams, Lamb, Lewis Pickering, Danny Williams, Gibbins, Moran Replacements Phillips, Taylor, Neary Try Cross Con Jack Williams
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