NORTHWICH’S fading promotion hopes had all but disappeared after they were soundly beaten 35-13 by Broughton Park on Saturday.

Clear favourites Northwich started this North West Two encounter the brighter but it was the hosts that displayed passion and desire to claim the win in convincing fashion.

Chairman Sam Naylor said the Blacks lacked decisiveness in the backs and badly missed impact players in the forwards.

“Broughton Park are nothing special but we just were not in the right frame of mind. Nothing seemed to go right at all.

“We have to regroup now, get some players back and go from there. But I can’t see us getting promotion this season.”

The Blacks started on the front foot and went 6-0 up thanks to a couple of Matt Bebbington penalties.

Midfield breaks from Stacey Hosking and Sam Naylor put the visitors deep inside the Broughton half but they were unable to capitalise.

Broughton centre Paddy O’Donnell scored against the run of play to put the hosts ahead from which Northwich never really recovered.

Kit Brammer then added another before a couple of Ronan O’Brien penalties made it 20-6 at half-time.

Northwich’s consistent wingman Steve Campbell seized on a loose ball to score near the posts but this only fired up the hosts who scored again through Mark McConnell.

Matters were made worse when Bebbington was sent to the bin for the last 10 minutes and a fourth try for the hosts compounded Northwich’s misery in Manchester.

Coach Kevin Greaves will need all his skills to regroup his squad and inspire them for the remainder of what could be a long slog.

He will be keen to get them back into winning ways on Saturday when they entertain bottom-of-the league Blackburn (KO 2.15pm).

Other scores: Northwich 2nds 63 Crewe & Nantwich 0 (tries: Allmark 3, Thompson, Leggett, Shimmin, Taylor, Keegan, Lawler; cons: Senior 9). St Mary’s Old Boys 10 Northwich 3rds 20.

Winnington Park’s fight for survival in Cheshire and South Lancs Division One suffered another blow on Saturday after they went down 38-11 at Sale.

Struggling Winnington, who slipped to the bottom of the league last week when rivals Dukinfield won while Winnington were on cup duty, could not contain the hosts at Heywood Road and were not aided in their fight by the absence of skipper Will Burgess.

A rampaging try from number eight Harry Stubbs was complimented by two Ben Elliot penalties during the first half but they couldn’t add to the scoresheet in the second period.

Club spokesman John Pickering said: “We had a few injuries and not having Will Burgess certainly did not help. They played OK though.”

The Burrows Hill men have just eight games now to save their season or suffer the unthinkable of dropping into level seven of Rugby Union’s league structure.

It is still unknown whether or not there will be any relegation from the league this season and Pickering says that Park must take matters into their own hands.

“We can’t rely on their not being any relegation this year,” he said.

“Hopefully, we’ll have a few players back on Saturday and we can do some real damage against a side we gave a 27-point lead to last time and still almost won.”

That side is fourth-placed Bowdon who travel to Winnington Park for a 2.15pm kick-off.

Other scores: WP 2nds 7 Stockport 2rds 81, Stockport 3rds 12 WP 3rds 13, WP Colts 61 Preston GH Colts 5.

Park’s junior section earned special plaudits at the weekend with all of their teams earning victories or draws against their Moss Farm rivals Northwich.