IF Roger Pickering had asked for a response from his players following a disappointing defeat at Port Sunlight seven days earlier, then he got one.

His side prevented the league leaders from scoring at Burrows Hill as they recorded a third win from four matches since dropping down to South Lancs/Cheshire Division Two.

They were solid, if unspectacular.

Chances to open the scoring had been wasted by the time a neat interchange between Craig Lamb, Matt Cross and Josh Brown ended with the latter touching down midway through the opening period.

Heaton Moor kicked a penalty shortly afterwards to reduce the deficit.

The visitors did not take other opportunities presented them to add further three-pointers, while Park could not find a way over the whitewash again before half-time.

They dominated territory in the second period with a strong breeze behind them, sparked by Cameron Flanagan’s precise kick.

A second score was not long in coming, with scrum-half Matt Cross making a fine break before inviting Lewis Pickering to touch down between the posts.

Chris Sheppard added the extras.

Winnington’s margin of victory might have been wider, but they did not trouble the scorers again.

Instead an uncomfortable final quarter of an hour saw them defend more than they would have liked.

Lamb’s quick-thinking on 70 minutes, when he reacted smartly to get the ball into full-back Jack Phillips’ hands, prevented a certain try.

Pickering said: “The biggest positive of the afternoon is we kept them try-less.

“However we weren’t ruthless enough when we had the ball in hand, and the game should have been out of the visitors’ grasp long before the finish.”

Park, now third in the table, visit Hoylake next weekend.

Park | Ridgway, Evans, Snasdell, Dave Cross, Josh Brown, Treacy, Kieran Williams, Danny Williams, Matt Cross, Flanagan, Lamb, Lewis Pickering, Robins, Gibbins, Sheppard Replacements Moriarty, Nick Brown, Phillips Tries Josh Brown, Lewis Pickering Con Sheppard