THE final match of the season between the top two teams in the league proved to be a game of two vastly differing halves, with Northwich eventually running out the worthy winners.

West Park were forced into a number of positional changes to start the match, but their excellent first half display, particularly from man of the match Warren Hunt, rocked the league champions to give the visitors a 16 to 11 points lead at the interval.

Three superb long range penalties from Hunt together with the conversion following skipper Matt Cozens fine try stunned the home side, who nonetheless were able to counter with a try of their own from speedy winger Davies and two successful penalties.

The latter penalty was for an adjudged trip by second row Lewis Harris, who was issued with a yellow card, serving his time in the sin bin either side of the half time interval.

Northwich were quick to take advantage of their numerical supremacy in the second half, scoring an early try to take the lead, but then Park were further hampered by a serious injury to centre Danny Green and later an injury to flanker Patrick Loughnane, the team reorganisation forcing hooker Tom Williams to take up a position on the wing. The home side soon added a further try after a sweeping cross field move to score wide out, and were now very much in control of the game.

A further somewhat contentious sin binning of Cozens, followed later by another yellow card issued to Williams,

meant in effect that the visitors had been forced to play three quarters of the second half with only 14 men, a task too much for any team against the league champions who were unbeaten for 7 months and were now about to record their 21st successive win of the season.

The resultant mismatch , despite some heroic defensive efforts by the visitors, saw the home side complete three further tries, two of which were converted, to post a score which seemed more than unlikely at half time, but was nonetheless fully deserved.

West Park as runners up in the league travel to Bolton next Saturday to contest a play off game to decide who will be promoted and join Northwich in the North West 1 league next season.