PERCY PARK 24 - 7 SHEFFIELD
The rain couldn't dampen the home side's spirits and this vital win means Percy Park are now off the bottom of North 2 East.
Due to the conditions, the game was switched from the Ist XV pitch to the adjacent King School Ist XV pitch and due to players returning from injured Park made some 9 changes from the side that lost so narrowly away to Sheffield earlier in the season.
The early encounters were evenly matched as both sides tried to get to grips with the conditions and a greasy ball, but it was Percy Park that opened the scoring with a try by Neill from a catch and drive line out close to the visitors line. Turnbull was unable to add to the score with a difficult conversion from wide out.
The home side stretched the lead not long after with a fine try, finished off by David Griffiths who has made the switch from fullback to centre this season. A typical surging run from Sam Walton set the move going and a break with Paul Singleton coming into the line had support on either side. Singleton's inside pass to Griffiths allowed the centre to surge past the last man in defence and score under the posts making Turnbull's conversion a formality.
The half ended 12 - 0 without further addition to the score but with Stu Denny being harshly sin binned for allegedly pulling down a maul close to the Park line.
In the second half Sheffield battered away at the Park line and surprisingly spurned an easy kick at goal following a Park infringement opting instead for a line out which was lost allowing Park to clear their lines. The constant pressure from the Yorkshiremen eventually told and after a series of rucks near the line scored with their replacement lock forward getting the touch down and flyhalf Davis adding the two points from the conversion to reduce the lead to 12 - 7.
Percy Park responded almost immediately with a try by wing Mark Clarkson after some good individual running by Liam Casey on the opposite wing. Casey danced his way past several would be tacklers bringing the ball infield. When the move seemed to have come to an end with some desperate defending by Sheffield somehow Singleton managed to offload the ball to Clarkson to score, with Turnbull adding the extras to make the scoreline 19 - 7.
There were some notable individual performances, particularly by Stu Denny who seems back to his old self and Sam Walton who played his first league game back since breaking a bone in his wrist earlier in the season.
It was left to Paul Davison to round off the day and seal victory with a trademark try running in from just inside the visitors half after receiving a scooped pass from Sam Walton at the base of the scrum. Davison made the break and dummied the last man to score wide out. Referee Dave Routledge brought the game to an end in the gloom to the delight of the home team and its supporters who are looking to continue winning ways with the next league game in two weeks at home to fellow league strugglers Alnwick.
A combined second/third XV played Blaydon and won comfortably 33 - 0 with tries from Vickers, Bell, Armstrong, Turner and Langlands. Morse added to the score with 4 conversions.
Percy Park Marauders were unlucky not to come away from Seghill with a victory as a last minute penalty from Burns went wide of the post and the home side winning 29 - 27. Park's tries came from Lohoar, Todd and Beers (2). Burns kicked a penalty and two conversions.