Ormskirk recorded their first away win of the season beating Winnington Park 39-29 on Saturday.
19 points from John Armstrong, including a try, two penalties and four conversions, and two tries from James Illingworth set up the victory. John Curley and Andy Healey also crossed the try line.
Ormskirk made a perfect start to the match as Armstrong capitalised from some reckless passing by the home side.
In trying to clear the ball from in front of their own posts, Park’s backline knocked on straight to Kirk’s number 10 who jinked his way over the line.
Park equalled the score soon after as their dominance in the scrum forced a mix up between Ben Davis and Gareth Little. The home side then took the lead with a penalty, making the score 10-7.
The remainder of the first half proved to be a scrappy affair. Park continued to dominate in the scrum but Andy Wilson’s throwing accuracy gave Ormskirk the upper hand at the lineout.
Ormskirk went into half time with a 14-10 lead thanks to a superb solo effort by John Curley.
Kirk’s pack won the ball inside their own half and Armstrong sent a wide pass out to Curley, who sidestepped his way round his opposite number before sprinting 60 metres to score.
At the start of the second half Ormskirk took control of the game as two tries from Illingworth gave the away side a commanding lead. Armstrong also added a penalty as Kirk appeared to have wrapped up the match with 20 minutes still remaining.
Andy Healey switched from Full Back to Scrum Half and scored with his first touch at number nine. Picking up at the back of the scrum, Healey threw a dummy pass which was taken by all of Park’s backline, leaving Healey a clear run under the posts.
But in a disappointing end to the match, Ormskirk let their concentration slip as a couple of Park tries allowed the home side back into the game. But Park’s effort proved to be too little too late as Ormskirk shut out the match to claim a valuable two points.
Ormskirk 2nd XV recorded an impressive 33-21 win against Marple although the 3rd XV lost 45-19 to Wirral.
This weekend Ormskirk face second from bottom side, Dukinfield, at Green Lane.
