Winnington Park 13 Ormskirk 6

WINNINGTON Park proved one thing in their defeat of Ormsirk.

Burrows Hill remains a tough place to visit and achieve a win.

The 60-plus past players who returned for an old boys’ reunion would have appreciated that, despite not being treated to a classic.

They will have been impressed by the spirit and determination from a team once more disrupted by illness and work commitments.

Missing key regulars such as Will Armstrong, Matt Sant, Phil Parrot, Will Broderick and Rob Garbett forced Park to call on Mike Jones who was not fully fit, Simon Platt and Mark Patterson.

The windy conditions made handling difficult but Park made the early running, with Ben Richardson and Harry Stubbs using their power and strength to test Ormskirk’s defence and making numerous breaks.

Had Park made the early domination tell when both Stubbs and Lee Allmark had tries ruled out, it could have been a different story with tries flowing.

Surprisingly, Ormskirk took the lead with a penalty after an offside at a ruck.

Park went straight down the pitch and gained a penalty themselves and the scores were level for half time.

They knew they needed to be more clinical in the second half, reduce the handling errors and improve on discipline.

Good play from the forwards from a catch and drive allowed number eight Stubbs to crash over for the breakthrough try.

Crucially, the conversion was made and Park led 10-3.

Although the next 20 minutes were littered with mistakes Ormskirk rarely troubled Park’s defence again.

Park must improve for the visit to Bowdon, who have shot up the table and occupy third spot.

Winnington: Armstrong, Dodds, Burgess, Platt (Patterson 60) Healds, Tracey, Stubbs (Cross 70), Moriarty, Jones, Brookes, Cross, Richardson, Hewitt, Bradley, Allmark. Sub: Murphy