Percy Park 26 Burnage 27

Apr 24 2011 by Mark Smith, Sunday Sun

PERCY PARK had promotion snatched from their grasp with the very last kick of a thrilling play-off decider.

With a place in National Three North on offer as the North One East runners-up hosted their Western equivalents, a marvellous advert for the game had looked like delivering the desired result for the North Shields-based side.

Battling back from 20-5 down just before the break, a monumental home effort saw Park finally sneak their noses in front on the hour mark.

But incessant pressure on their own try-line eventually told with the last play of a tension-filled afternoon, as their visitors from Stockport sniped through a gap to set up the match-winning conversion.

Club president Albi Duhrin, in his final game in the role, had insisted beforehand that promotion would not define their season, with the 138-year-old club already in the highest league placing in their history.

Wednesday’s Northumberland Senior Cup final against Tynedale Raiders offers the opportunity of some consolation for yesterday’s disappointment but, with every team from seconds to fourths having won their respective leagues, this is definitely a club doing things the right way.

That much was evident as a packed home ground roared them on – early pressure from Burnage seeing Park 10-0 down as full-back Sam Jennings’s try was converted by winger James Knights, who added a further penalty.

Home-wing Ali Blair showed a fine turn of pace to speed home the opener for the hosts on 18 minutes, but a rolling maul try and a third from centre Stuart Oldham looked like putting Burnage out of reach.

Full-back Ashley Smith reduced the half-time deficit to 10 as skipper John Scott worked the ball to the blindside, and Park were much the brighter side after the resumption.

Left-wing Howard Stock crashed over for their third try after a huge scrum win against the head, while the introduction of replacement flanker Brett Sylph added real menace to their running game around the fringes. Park finally snatched a deserved lead on 55 minutes as Blair slid home for his second of the afternoon after solid scrum ball was worked left, with the missed conversion leaving a six-point gap going into a tense final 15 minutes.

Heroic defence repelled wave after wave of Burnage attack, but reduced to 14 men the pressure finally told with time elapsed, as replacement Alex Bow scurried through a hole to score – Knights holding his nerve for the match-winning conversion to snatch promotion away.

Still, home heads could be held high, and one senses that Percy Park will still be the name to watch in North One East next season.