WHEN Douglas came to Burrows Hill last term, they were sent back to Isle of Man by a Winnington Park side that racked up 94 points in a record win.

They sat second in the table after five successive wins.

The rivals will kick off this season's meeting on Saturday in starkly different circumstances, with the home team sat second-bottom in the standings after a run of five straight losses.

For Winnington, the story at Sefton was a familiar one; they improved after starting slowly, but could not match the power of their hosts’ pack.

They have eight matches, five of them in Northwich, to save themselves from the drop.

“We can’t keep giving ourselves a mountain to climb,” rued coach Roger Pickering after his side’s latest away loss – their eighth in nine road trips.

Sefton took the lead following a driving maul after winning possession at a line-out.

Winnington replied, but could not convert the chances they created as key passes went to ground.

They battled in defence, and held on against bigger and stronger forwards until the hosts’ wing evaded two attempted tackles before touching down.

When the ball was turned over cheaply by the visitors, a third score followed and Sefton were 19-0 in front at half-time.

Park rallied in the second period, but too often their final ball went astray.

They at least returned home with the consolation of scoring the best try of the game when a sweeping movement ended with wide man Chris Sheppard crossing on the right.

There were opportunities to close the gap further, though none bore fruit.

“Our backs proved that they can execute superbly when they have space,” added Pickering.

“But we have to shake this habit of giving opponents a head-start.”

Douglas have lost their past three away games in South Lancs/Cheshire Division One, and went down 29-6 across the fence when they visited Northwich back in October.

Kick off on Saturday is 2.15pm.

Park Taylor, Johnson, Underdown, Dave Cross, Brown, Treacy, Glendinning, Danny Williams, Moran, Jack Williams, Lamb, Lewis Pickering, Allmark, Gibbins, Sheppard Replacements Neary, Evans, Gareth Williams Try Sheppard