WINNINGTON PARK 15 - PRESTON HOPPERS 25

from weekend of November 22/23

HOPPERS' late surge gave them the points in this relegation battle.

An early Park mistake cost dear as Hoppers took play to the other end of the field and opened the scoring with a Rob Smith penalty.

Some ineffective tackling then allowed Owens to cross for an unconverted try to give the home side the lead.

A weaving run from Anton Fields produced a Mike Sword try just before the break and when John Bleasdale crossed early in the second half, Hoppers looked to have the game won. Failing to consolidate, Hoppers allowed the Cheshire side back into the game with a Bell penalty reducing the deficit.

When a Farr try was converted by Bell the scores were level and the game was anyone's.

Hoppers finished the stronger, however, with Gary Monaghan outpacing the home defence in pursuit of a Mike Bailey hack to claim a third try.

Replacement Barry Greenwood then took full advantage of an overlap to put the issue beyond doubt with Hoppers' fourth try just before the end.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.