Prenton 2nd 62 Knutsford 7

KNUTSFORD endured a testing afternoon away to Prenton’s seconds that saw them lose three players to injury before the interval.

The visitors had started promisingly, defending their hosts’ attempts to open the scoring before scrum-half Sam Kemp was forced off with a nasty head injury.

Blues adjusted initially, making steady progress up the pitch, but without crossing the whitewash.

Instead they had to contend with more disruption when Gregg Sawyer’s afternoon was also cut short and Sam Bensky had a break from the action to receive treatment.

Prenton took advantage, breaking through on 25 minutes.

Knutsford cursed their luck further when Adam Cornes hurt a rib, prompting Bensky’s return in the back-row.

They trailed 7-0 at the turnaround but conceded four tries early in the second-half after their opponents changed the focus of their attack and played with greater width.

Blues, who had recorded back-to-back wins after slow start to 2019, responded and began to protect the channels more effectively.

They did not circulate the ball quickly enough to trouble Prenton but did at least put points on the board when Alex Malcolm dotted down after an hour.

The conversion attempt was successful too.

A competitive finale followed, but a buoyant opponent continued to apply pressure and scored two more tries before the final whistle.

Knutsford, who drop to seventh in North West Intermediate League Division Three South, attempt to recover at the first attempt when they travel to Old Bedians seconds on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.