Birkenhead Park RFC

Sat 5 Mar 2022

Kendal

20 - 20

(HT 0-0)

Birkenhead Park

Kendal

Birkenhead Park

KENDAL 20  BIRKENHEAD PARK 20

Park draw with last gasp Penalty Try!

Park travelled to Kendal with many regulars still missing but in good form having won seven games in a row, including one over Kendal exactly a month ago.

It was a bright sunny Cumbrian afternoon, but with a very cold swirling wind. Early exchanges were even, and it soon became clear that it would be an afternoon dominated by penalties, with both teams been penalised on a regular basis. Park probably had the better chances and turned down the opportunity to kick a couple of straight forward penalties in search of scoring tries. A strong park maul should have opened the scoring but the ball was dropped over the line.

The first score of the game did not come until twenty seven minutes, when Kendal’s Glen Weightman successfully decided to take the points from a penalty, 3v0

Kendal’s Danny Barker was yellow carded shortly afterwards, for a high tackle. This however seemed to fire Kendal up and they had their best spell of the game. Their opening try came after thirty seven minutes. Dane Blenkharn opened the Park defence and powered into the twenty-two. When the ball came back, Matt Houghton who made ground, then ball was then moved wide to Ben Dixon on the left to touch down. 8v0.

The lead was quickly extended. From the re-start Sam Chidley took the Kendal player catching the re-start in the air. Glen Weightman put the penalty kick deep into the Park twenty two. From the lineout the ball was moved to fullback Dan Lowther, who joined the line at speed, he was stopped close to the line, but Joe Fiddler was in support to score. 13v0

The game seemed to be slipping away from Park as Kendal were now in full stride but just before the break Park got their first points, with a Garin Roberts penalty from in front of the posts 13v3.

I’m nopt sure what was said at the break but Park looked a different team in the second half. After six minutes Park had their first try. From a Park scrum, the ball was moved quickly and on fire centre Owain Davies went through a gap to score his sixth try in six games, Garin Roberts kicked  the conversion 13v10.

Kendal came straight back and the forwards set up a drive from a lineout, which was stopped illegally resulting in a yellow card for Park back row Sean Mooney. Kendal were not able to take advantage from the resulting penalty, and again it was the team with the reduced numbers which had the better of the next ten minutes. With ten minutes to play, having been unable to get through the Kendal defence, Park kicked another Roberts penalty to tie the scores 13v13.

Kendal came back and good work from their forwards in the Park twenty two, saw a driving maul try for Steven Nelson. Chris Park added the conversion. The game looked to have gone as it was 20v13 with only two minutes remaining.

With time running out, Park were pushed back to their twenty two following the re-start, but an attack from deep  took Park up to halfway and a resulting penalty was put deep into the Kendal twenty two, and the lineout was won by Lol Thomas to set up a drive. The drive was motoring over the line when it was stopped near the line but illegally, and referee Martin Maughn, awarded a Penalty try to tie the scores with the last action of the game.

An even game which could have gone either way, with Kendal on top just before half time and Park immediately afterwards, but for much of the game the two teams cancelled each other out.

Park Coach Dave Blyth stated “I was delighted with our mentality today, to come back and get the draw was fantastic. We were missing eight regular starters, so to come here and get a result shows how far we have come in the past few months”

Park will hope to have a few players back next week as they have another tough game, away at top of the table Stockport who are unbeaten so far this season.