AFTER a turn each in the ascendancy, a draw was probably the right result.

If Northwich were more disappointed, then it was because they had established a 24-14 by the break.

However there was plenty to be positive about too.

Penrith put the first points on the board when Tom Lindsay peeled off the back of a maul after Dan Richardson claimed the ball at a lineout.

Nathan Wooff converted.

Blacks replied when Nick Baldwin kicked a penalty and on 15 minutes they moved in front when Tom Clark collected a short pass and went over.

The circumstances were like their hosts’ score; a penalty kicked to the corner and an effective maul from the resulting lineout.

Baldwin added the extras too.

Northwich increased their tally after captain Matthew Poste tapped a penalty and moved the ball to Richard Dale who surged forward.

He fed Joel Barber and a switch with Tom Husband led to the teenager scoring a well-executed try that Baldwin duly converted.

The home team were next to score after taking possession from a scrum deep inside their guests’ territory.

Their forwards made up yards before George Graham spotted an opportunity to break through before Wooff again converted.

Northwich responded though, and from another lineout they moved the ball slickly for Barber to dart through a gap in the defence and sprint to the line.

Baldwin remained reliable, increasing his side’s lead to 10 points at half-time.

The two teams traded penalty-kicks after the interval, Woolf converting a three-pointer first before Baldwin replied in kind, before forwards sent on by Penrith coach David Preston made an impact.

Mike Raine took the ball at the front of a lineout and the pack’s drive ended with Lee Chapman grounding the ball.

Wooff thought he had levelled the scores when he found a way over only for the referee to judge he hadn’t touched down.

However Penrith, victors in nine of their previous 10 home games and beaten only by leaders Carlisle in the other, did restore parity when Ryan Lee collapsed over the whitewash after another maul had driven Northwich behind their own line.

Northwich | Maddocks, Gough, Ridgway, Heywood, Clark, Naylor, Burmah, Balshaw, Poste, Baldwin, Husbands, Richard Dale, Davidson, Skinkis, Barber Replacements Wood, Fray, Bennett Tries Clark, Husband, Barber Cons Baldwin (3) Pens Baldwin (2)

Match report by Steve Wood