Northwich 25, Hoylake 6: IT MAY have taken until the first weekend of October and their fourth league outing, but North-wich finally did what they have been threatening to do from the start of the season when they comprehensively took apart a previously-unbeaten Hoylake XV at Moss Farm on Saturday.

The home side were never behind and kept their composure to give relieved new coach Chris Chudleigh his first league win. Northwich scored three tries in all and two, one in each half, typified their new-found confidence.

The first came from full-back Adam Bown when his 50m dash saw him cut through the Hoylake defence to score a scintillating individual try. But Gaz Davies failed to convert Bown's try and missed another easy penalty attempt, leaving fans wondering if the 8-0 interval lead (including a Davies penalty) was enough.

They needn't have worried, as North-wich took complete control in the second half. Hoylake managed two penalties from Steve Young but it was a stunning second-half try from standoff Steve Taylor that demonstrated Northwich's overall superiority.

The home side's pressure was rewarded with a scrum on the Hoylake 25m line, and Davies fed Taylor who mesmerised the defence as he waltzed through to score between the sticks. Steve Campbell, who had taken over kicking duty, converted to add to his own second-half try and penalty.

The Northwich defence remained rock solid to keep their first clean tryscoring sheet for a long while. Hoylake had put 30-odd points on Northwich a few months ago, but it was a different story at home on Saturday as forwards Bryan Johnson, Rob Heath and Gary Evans tore the Hoylake pack apart.

Northwich still have some work to do in the lineout but their overall game plan is starting to take shape. nNorthwich face Anselmians away on Saturday before their much-anticipated Winnington Park cup clash on Saturday, October 15. nIt was a good day all-round at Moss Farm as all three Northwich teams played at home and won.

The 2nd XV tonked Chester 32-14 (scorers were Andy Stanley, Jonty Whitby, Ian Haddock, Olli Watts and Adam Lang, with two conversions and a penalty from Brett Stanley) and the 3rds beat Buxton 7-0 thanks to a Mark James try and Ricky Evans conversion.

Winnington Park 15 Tyldesley 3:

Blustery conditions at Burrows Hill on Saturday made fluid rugby difficult but Winnington made all the early running in the Powergen North Two West League clash.

Mark Patterson made one telling break only to see possession turned over on the visitors' line. Tyldesley were caught offside and Gary Bell kicked a 30m penalty to make it 3-0. Park continued to dominate possession and created enormous pressure but Tyldesley defended heroically to keep their line in tact.

Winnington continued to dominate the lineout and from one on the visitors' 5m line, the forwards combined well and drove over for John Piggott to touch down for the opening try.

Tyldesley immediately reduced the arrears to 8-3 but Winnington pulled ahead just before the break as referee Andy Hewells finally lost patience with Tyldesley's spoiling tactics and back-row forward Adam Featherstone was sin-binned for killing the ball. From the next lineout, Park drove Andy Barnes over to lead 15-3 at half-time.

The second half was utterly forgettable with Winnington continuing to dominate both scrum and lineout. But battling against an ever-increasing wind, they found it difficult to create any clear-cut scoring chances.

Winnington coach Mark Warr said: 'I was pleased with the win, but with so much possession the score should have been much more emphatic. Andy Barnes and Iain Moriarty had good games in the lineout and prop Will Burgess was impressive throughout.'

Next, Park are away to Widnes in the league on Saturday, kick-off 3pm. Then on Tuesday, they take on Bowdon in the quarter-finals of the Cheshire Cup, starting at 8pm at Heywood Road, Sale.

West Park St Helens 18 Winnington Park 2nds 15: A last-minute try by West Park helped the home side snatch a win after a solid performance by Winnington.

Ever-improving winger Joe Ellis scored two tries to earn the man-ofthe-match award, one converted by Paul McCafferty who also added a penalty. A questionable decision by the referee disallowed a good McCafferty try which would have sealed the game - and then came the last-minute heartache after a lapse in the de-fence.