FOR the second time this season, the ‘derby’ spoils and bragging rights have been won by the away team.
While Winnington Park won at neighbours Northwich in October, this time Blacks were victorious over the fence at Burrows Hill with the score finishing 20-12.
As with most ‘derby’ contests, this was a hard-fought contest with both sides leaving everything on the pitch.
There was an air of trepidation in the Northwich camp prior to the match as they were forced to make changes in the squad.
Harry Owens made his first start at scrum-half and proved to be a revelation in the role, while Jonny Pym had to withdraw due to illness which gave Morgan Slinger a start in the back row.
Nevertheless, Blacks started brightly despite going behind.
Some quick thinking with a quick tap caught Northwich off guard, and the home side scored a neat try through Cameron Flanagan that went unconverted.
Five minutes later Blacks levelled matters when from a penalty Quinlan Watson and Hurjo Besuidenhout worked well to provide Tim Balogun with the opportunity to score a try.
The remainder of the half was a stalemate until a scrum allowed the visitors to mount an attack.
With sleight of hand Besuidenhout passed the ball to Jonathan Knipe who proved unstoppable in his charge for the line.
The extras went begging and the half closed with a five-point advantage in favour of Northwich.
Within five minutes of the restart Blacks extended their lead.
From deep in Northwich territory Toby Moss made a break and released Thansville Mayman who went on a fantastic charge.
When he was eventually stopped Watson was on hand to score the try and convert.
With 20-minutes remaining Tom Clark was shown a yellow card as WP were pressing the Northwich line.
The home side opted for a scrum and following significant pressure the ball was moved wide for a Alex De Keyzer try in the corner that was converted.
This closed the gap to 17-12, and both sets of supporters were in for a nail-biting conclusion to the match.
Led by captain and man-of-the-match Rory Leijdekkers, Northwich tried to extend their lead but the WP defence held strong.
The only addition to the scoring came with just two minutes remaining when the visitors were given a penalty close to the sticks for not releasing.
Tom Husbands stepped up to slot the penalty giving the travelling faithful a chance to breathe. WP continued to press but Northwich held out for a well-deserved victory.
For now, the bragging rights belong to Northwich as do the Ashes.
Ninth-placed Northwich return to action at Birkenhead Park, who are one spot and two points ahead of them in Regional 2 North West, on Saturday, February 28, kick-off 2.15pm.
On the same day, Winnington Park will visit table-toppers North Ribblesdale.
