IT was celebration time again for Birkenhead Park on Easter Saturday - just eight days after their wonderful Intermediate Cup semi-final victory at Bracknell.
This time they staged a remarkable come-back to edge out National Three North League outfit Macclesfield in the Lees Cheshire Cup Final at Chester.
It ended 22-20 for Park, with a Tony Handley conversion tipping the balance with the very last kick.
advertisement
It was 11th time lucky for Park, who had been beaten in 10 finals since the county competition was re-introduced in 1969.
Birkenhead made a bright start in snowy conditions before Macclesfield took charge. It looked all over when the East Cheshire outfit, bidding for a third successive final win, moved into a 20-5 lead five minutes into the second period.
Park looked tired after their exertions the previous Saturday, but suddenly they found a new purpose and desire and took the game to the opposition.
Gradually, they clawed their way back and produced an equalising try in the seventh minute of added time before Handley held his nerve with the goal kick to leave the opposition totally shell-shocked.
It was never a classic on a raw afternoon at Hare Lane - but it turned into an absorbing contest.
Handley was immense at stand-off, but there were some other fine performances, none better than David Blythe at lock forward.
Handley made the break for an excellent third minute try by Peter Hart for Park. But then Macclesfield took control. Skipper Ross Winney landed a penalty and converted from the touch line after a 19th minute touch down by Reuben Harvey.
Ollie Hewitt crossed in first-half injury time and five minutes into the second period Harvey went over in the corner.
It seemed there would be no way back for Park, but Handley gave them hope with a penalty awarded after a Greg Hughes try was disallowed for a forward pass.
Handley forced his way over during a purple patch and the conversion on 55 minutes cut the Macclesfield advantage to five points.
The Priory Park side then withstood everything thrown at them until a last Birkenhead surge culminated in sub Dan Palmer breaching the Macclesfield rearguard after the ball went through many pairs of hands. The angled goal strike by Handley signalled the final whistle.
"The long wait to get our name on the trophy is over," said Park spokesman Peter Greville. "It was a remarkable come-back and the players deserve tremendous praise. They showed courage and determination when all seemed lost."
Hoylake, meanwhile, missed out on a place in the Cheshire Vase Final as they went down 10-15 at Sandbach. It was a brave performance by Hoylake against a club who play a league above them.
They led 10-5 at the half-way stage, with Stephen Young managing a penalty and converting after a penalty try. But two second-half touch downs saw the home side to a narrow victory.
The majority of clubs did not have weekend fixtures.
There is a return to league action this Saturday. Matches include Caldy at Rugby in National Three North, Birkenhead Park v North One leaders Kendal at the Upper Park and New Brighton at Vale of Lune in North Two West.
Lower down the scale, it's Anselmians v Vagabonds, Wirral v Widnes, Hoylake at Sale, a Wallasey v Oldershaw derby', Prenton v Holmes Chapel, Parkonians at Douglas and Port Sunlight v Capenhurst.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
