North One East

Percy Park 22- West Leeds 26

 Vital points dropped in relegation fight

Supporting Percy Park is akin to a roller coaster ride at Alton Towers. You climb steadily to the top and from what appears to be an unassailable position, come over the apex at a hurtling stomach churning rate which leaves the supporter traumatised and sat in the bar with nerves frayed calling for a bottle of best brandy to cuddle. Last week we had 90 seconds of ‘madness’ that nearly cost Percy Park the fixture. On Saturday we got 3 minutes and on this occasion we lost. The real unfortunate fact was that Percy Park really were the better side. The better team did lose. With a ‘cooler head’ in those final minutes of a ‘barnstorming’ game Park would have come out on top and instead of sitting in the bottom three, looking up, they could have been placed mid table. And in that sentence there is the consolation. Park can get themselves out of the relegation places. The point differential between seventh place at mid-table and Percy Park in twelfth is only 5 points and with a game in hand all is ‘still to play for’.

In the first half Percy Park were unplayable. With a game plan that kept the ball in the forwards, moving along both the narrow and open side, dragging in defenders, before stretching the game by throwing the ball wide. A plan that had West Leeds reeling. And they played at a ‘tempo’ that had West Leeds truly believing they were going to get well beaten and digging in deep just to stay anywhere near a retrievable score line.

Valuable 5 points for Park

North One East

Percy Park 33- Malton&Norton 27

Percy Park gained a valuable 5 point win over relegation rivals Malton and Norton due to the hard work by club volunteers who worked tirelessly to ensure that the game could go ahead in spite of the hard frost that had appeared overnight. Yet the Park players nearly undid all their hard work by ‘snatching defeat from the jaws of victory’ in a 90 second spell at the end of the game that had supporters and alikados reaching for the pitch side defibrillator. However with the final whistle blown the relief around the Preston Avenue ground was tangible, even ‘Compo and Clegg’ were smiling, and the team could finally congratulate themselves for putting in a good performance that resulted in a much needed win.

The game proved to be an exciting affair from start to finish. A game that the neutral would have loved, with the match ebbing and flowing from one end to another. From the kick off the importance of the game was evident and Malton fly half Luke Raduva led the way by pouncing on a loose ball on the half way line and setting off at pace toward the Percy Park goal. With desperate scramble defence Park made the tackle and in doing so gained the ball and cleared their lines attacking deep into the Malton half. The frenetic tone was set. With 5 minutes on the clock Park secured a line out on the Malton 22 and a fine rolling maul saw Captain Jonny Dubois over the line for the first score of the day. With the conversion taken hope abounded.

‘Rub of the green’ evades Park 

North One East

Huddersfield YMCA RUFC 34- Percy Park 17

This was a game Park should have won, and if a few key decisions had been given in their favour would have won, but somehow that decision tempest blew in the face of a deserving second half effort that left the Park players and supporters looking to the skies and asking some very relevant questions as to how they had left the Laund Hill ground with nothing to show for that effort. On points deferential this game was a definite game of two halves with Park seemingly ‘down and out’ on the turn yet territory wise Park were dominant and if it wasn’t for a Huddersfield twenty minute ‘purple patch’ in the first half the home side really did not look like winning.

North One East

Cleckheaton 31-Percy Park 27

Percy Park despair in injury time.

At this present moment Percy Park are travelling along a bumpy road recording a five game losing streak…yet if this performance can be used as a guide, it appears as if Park are nearing the end of that particular road. A much improved performance had Cleckheaton on the rack and it was only in disputed overtime that the Cleckheaton number 8 Jack Sneddon bounced off several tackles to score a fine try to win the game for the home side. A game that Percy Park could have, and some will argue should have, returned with 5 points secured and confidence restored.

Percy Park started the game with six changes from last week’s loss. Josh Hedley made his first start of the season after returning from his New Zealand sabbatical and Tom ‘Roofer’ Robertson made his debut in the back row. First blood went to Cleckheaton with Percy Park adjudged to illegally transgressed within kicking distance of the posts. With the subsequent penalty taken Percy Park found themselves 3-0 down after 3 minutes and if matters couldn’t get worse Percy Park found themselves a man down after 5 minutes with Jake Smith being dispatched to the sin bin for ‘repeated offending’. And as in previous weeks the opposition made Park pay with an unconverted try on 14 minutes. Cleckheaton using the extra man to their advantage to put winger Liam Darville into the left corner to score a relatively easy try.