Warrington 23 Birkenhead Park 31

COACH Andy Roberts said Warrington played “some of their best rugby of the season” against high-flying Birkenhead Park, but came up just short at Walton Lea Road.

The hosts dominated up front but Park, second in the North One West table behind runaway leaders Kirkby Lonsdale, were clinical to maintain their unbeaten record against eighth-placed Warrington.

Despite two converted tries from Tom Arnold, plus three Luke Gilooly penalties, Roberts’ side were unable to take a losing bonus point.

However, the coach says his side have the perfect opportunity to bounce back when they host Burnage on Saturday, kick off 2.15pm, in the Lancashire Cup semi-final.

“This really was the one that got away,” he said.

“The lead changed hands at intervals and we had the chances to win. We played some of our best rugby of the season, even though we still gave away too many penalties.

“We aren’t going to win the league this season but it would be great to win some silverware.”

After the teams swapped early penalties, Park showed good hands to cross for their first try in the corner.

However, Warrington responded shortly after when excellent recycling allowed Arnold to squeeze over.

A try from a driving maul and a penalty allowed the visitors to take a 16-10 lead into the second half, but Warrington edged ahead again when Arnold pounced on a Park fumble from Max Caldwell’s kick to score his second try.

Gilooly kicked another penalty before Park retook the lead with another driving maul try, but a yellow card for the visitors gave Warrington hope of a victory.

Sadly, a defensive lapse allowed Park to cross again between the posts and another penalty close to the end denied Warrington a losing bonus point.

Sandbach 2nd 26 Warrington 2nd 26

WARRINGTON’S seconds dug deep to recover a large deficit to snatch a last-gasp share of the spoils at Sandbach.

After their hosts had raced into an early 14-0 lead, the visitors got on the board when Mark Tickle touched down from Ben Dixon’s chip.

Sandbach booted a penalty before Cam Lewis collected player/coach Shaun MacBriers’ kick to score and narrow the gap.

Two more Sandbach penalties took their tally to 23 before Dixon scored a superb individual try to keep Warrington in touch.

Another home penalty seemed to have won the game, but Tickle collected his own chip to race over and Dixon’s conversion secured a hard-fought draw.

The seconds return to action on Saturday, March 4, with a trip to Kirkby Lonsdale.