Saturday 30th November 2024

Regional 1 Northwest

Birkenhead Park 28

Leek 39

A Will Midwinter second-half hat-trick saw Leek earn their first win of the season with a 28-39 win on the road at fellow strugglers Birkenhead Park.

Rob McDermott got the blue and whites on the board early with a try, and a Midwinter penalty stretched the lead to 0-8 before the hosts scored the first of their four converted tries. Jack Newton-Taylor's score saw the Moorlanders ahead at the break 7-13.

Will Midwinter changed the game with a try early in the second period, following it up with an interception score minutes later to make it 7-27. Park pulled one back, only for Tom Hayes to stretch the lead again.

Midwinter claimed his third with ten minutes remaining, and two late tries from the hosts weren't enough to change the result.

The win sees Leek move ten points clear of Birkenhead, narrowing the gap to Stoke - who have yet to visit Altrad Park - to five points.

Meanwhile at Altrad Park, Leek 2s continued their high-scoring form with a 57-7 win over Burton. Fullback Jack Fryer scored a hat-trick, Harry Byrne claimed a brace and Matt Broad, Jay Wilkinson, Lucas Rowley and Anton Davidson also crossed the whitewash as the second string maintained their promotion challenge.

Author: G Leftwich.