NORTH 1 EAST
PERCY PARK 32 – 8 WEST HARTLEPOOL
In the run up to this game, coach Ed Midcalf was quoted in the local press saying that Park would run the ball wide at every opportunity, but in reality conditions dictated otherwise and 3 of Park’s 4 tries came from the pack, with Andy Dunn on the end of 2 of them.
With floodlights warming up as the players did likewise, a light rain fell as the game kicked off making conditions greasy for handling. West kicked off and put themselves under immediate pressure as the ball went dead and Park were awarded the put in to a scrum on half way.
The first score came inside 4 minutes when the visitors were penalised for pulling down a maul and Ash Smith put Park on the scoreboard with a well- taken penalty. He could have doubled the score minutes later when West again infringed in their own half, but the kick went wide.
The match day program showed Dan Boatman to be West’s skipper, but on the day the team were marshalled from the back by Stu Waites, although Boatman soon incurred the wrath of referee Graham Crozier with his repeated infringing around the contact area.
Park kicked to the corner from yet another penalty and a catch and drive moved towards the West line, with several of the Park backs joining the maul to add momentum, which saw hooker Andy Dunn get the touch down on 21 minutes. Ash Smith kicked the difficult conversion to take Park into double figures.
With Boatman on the first of several final warnings, Park were given another penalty, kicked again by Smith for a 13 – 0 lead. Percy Park had more scoring opportunities than the visitors who spilled a good deal of possession in midfield and often kicked away good ball to no effect.
When Ben Bell was penalised for coming into the side of a ruck just outside Park’s 22, Zak Southern kicked the 3 points for 13 – 3.
Percy Park should have scored before the half ended as Toby Davison showed his pace down the left wing, however with 2 players on his inside in support and only Stu Waites to beat, he chose to kick ahead. Ash Smith seemed to win the race to score but knocked on just before the try line and West were given the put in to a 5 metre scrum.
The nearest the visitors came to scoring was when an Ash Smith kick was charged down and centre Peter Youll made a dash for the line, but Park’s defence was solid and the Teesiders were kept out.
In the second half, the home side kept up the pressure, kicking for position and forcing West to win their own line out ball and attack from deep. One such deep kick saw Andrew Foreman gather the ball but a quick chase by Ali Blair forced him to touch down over his own line for a Park attacking scrum on 5 metres. A quick heel saw the ball shoot out of the scrum as Park scrambled to recover possession. With the ball secured and another ruck set up. Andy Dunn picked up and went around the blind side, shimmied and went over for the try that for some reason West disputed, which did nothing to endear themselves to referee Crozier.
West are always a tough nut to crack and their aggressive defence kept Park at bay for a further ten minutes. A sweeping move down the right saw Rich Berne power his way to the line, but he was stopped short. Quick ball gave fly half Ash Smith the chance to side step his way through the broken defensive line to run under the posts for a try which he converted for a 25 -3 lead.
With Park currently in second place in North 1 East, they desperately needed a 4 try bonus point to keep in touch with league leaders Sheffield. The bonus point came on the hour as once again Park caught a line out and drove to the try line. This time all but 3 of the Park side joined the maul that saw Ben Bell touch down. Ash Smith kicked the extras and Park were now ahead 32 – 3.
Despite being well behind, West stuck at it and were rewarded with a consolation try on 75 minutes. Park were penalised near their line and a quick tap ball was spun wide with Zak Southern outside Andrew Foreman to take the pass and go over. He was unable to convert his own try and the final score was 32 – 8.
Next week Park’s 1st XV travel to Abbeydale to play Sheffield in a game where a win will see them top the league.
At home the Lions take on Tynedale Raiders and the Pumas and Academy are also at home to play Gosforth and Westoe respectively.