B'head Park

. . . 15 ptsHuddersfield. . . 16 ptsA MUCH -improved display by Birkenhead Park ended in despair when Huddersfield snatched the points in this North 1 game with a superb drop goal by stand-off Chris Johnson deep in injury time at the Upper Park.

It was a cruel blow for a Park side who outscored the visitors by three tries to one - but they will rue a number of missed kicks and opportunities which proved to be extremely costly.

Second row Dave Blyth scored Park's opening try after five minutes but Huddersfield responded with a penalty by Johnson mid-way through the first-half.

Good work by Tony Handley and Gareth Davies created space for Jon Sewell to burst through for a second home try 10 minutes later. Huddersfield managed to level the scores in first-half injury time with a breakaway try by flanker Mark Whitehead and conversion by Johnson.

Park generally held the upperhand in the second-half and were rewarded with a third try by hooker Chris Jones following a powerful driving maul, but crucially the conversion was again missed. Huddersfield managed another penalty by Johnson, who then delivered the final late killer blow.

For Park there was an excellent debut from flanker Njike Tchakoute and the return of stand-off Handley brought a much-needed boost in the backs.

Park travel to Hull on Saturday for what will be another tough test.