ALTRINCHAM Kersal did not need a last-minute try to prevail this time but they were forced to defend by Winnington Park until the final whistle.

Matt Farr’s men rallied in the second-half to narrow a deficit on the scoreboard and felt hard done by after a tug on replacement wing Archie Sanchez’s shirt when he chased a kick was sanctioned only with a penalty.

They trailed 21-18 at that moment.

Sam Brookes kicked a penalty to put Park in front during the early exchanges after one of the hosts’ players was caught offside.

Altrincham responded quickly when * Thorburn touched down at the end of a breakaway and * Yates added a conversion.

Jon Coulson crossed for the home team, a try again improved by Yates, but Park were unfazed.

They were unfortunate not to score when Dan Eastwood intercepted and sprinted towards the line only to be caught by an opponent before reaching it.

The visitors did score a try before the break though when Mike Hallworth, supported by Shaun Underdown, forced his way over when a drive formed after an attacking lineout.

Brookes’ extras made it 14-10, only for centre * Robinson to claim Altrincham’s third try after they recycled the ball quickly following a lineout.

Yates remained reliable.

Brookes landed a penalty shortly after the interval after the home team had a player sent the sin-bin as punishment for a high tackle.

It encouraged the Burrows Hill outfit to continue applying pressure and that paid dividend when another yellow card was shown to an Altrincham player.

Sam Houghton’s try was the result but a conversion attempt was unsuccessful.

Winnington spent the closing stages close to their opponents’ line but could not find a way through the defence to score a decisive try.