Ellesmere Port 13 Ramsey 19

ELLESMERE Port remain in the lower reaches of South Lancs/Cheshire Division Two after they lost a niggly match to their fellow strugglers on Saturday.

A slow start and the tough conditions were the key factors behind a defeat which leaves the Oilers, whose next two games are in the Isle of Man, in 10th and just six points above second-from-bottom Ramsey.

The hosts started with a strong gale at their backs but that failed to stop them from falling 10 points behind inside the first 10 minutes.

That served to knock Port into gear and a super solo run from winger Rob Finlay enabled fullback Ant Jones to sidestep the final defender and touch down under the posts.

Chris Carbutt slotted over the simplest of conversions before the fly-half added a penalty which gave his side a deserved half-time lead.

The Oilers were always going to be up against after the break and their cause wasn’t helped when back-row Ricky Evans was sinbinned for an offside offence in the 50th minute.

The wind was now in Ramsey’s favour and they levelled the contest five minutes later before landing two more penalties in the 66th and 77th minutes – but only after Port had missed two of their own.

In the dying minutes the Whitby Sports & Social Club outfit came agonisingly close to scoring what would have been the winning try as their forwards drove to within two metres of the Ramsey try line and secured a five-metre scrum. However, the decision was reversed when the referee heard words out of turn.

Port, who had Carbutt sent-off for dissent after the final whistle, face Vagabonds on Saturday before they head back to the Isle of Man one week later for the Ramsey return clash.