ALTRINCHAM Kersal remain top of Lancs/Cheshire Division One after a 22-8 win at Sefton – but were left frustrated after the game ended early and they missed out on the chance of a bonus point.

The match started with a good tempo from both sides which, after some good forward pressure and a number of penalties in the opposition 22, led to a penalty for the visitors.

More pressure from the Altrincham pack saw James Coulson finish off a good phase of play from the backs to deliver a well-crafted try.

Sefton then replied with a try from a forwards' drive to make the score 10-5, to which Altrincham countered with good work from both forwards and backs for Cal Robinson to finish off another well-worked try.

In the second half Sefton scored an early penalty to make the score 17-8, but continual pressure from the visitors saw Coulson crash over for his second try. Cal Yates scored one penalty and two conversions as part of the scoreline.

It was a strange decision to call time six minutes from the end during a period of sustained and unanswered pressure from Kersal, culminating in what should have been a five-metre scrum for the visitors.

This unexpected decision left the visitors frustrated as the flow of play, had it continued, would likely have led to a further try which would in turn have given Altrincham a bonus point win.   

The second team also won, beating third-placed Warrington seconds 32-12 on home soil.

Kersal started well, scoring out wide within the first five minutes through winger Aled Thomas, Jordan Roberts narrowly missing the conversion by hitting the upright.

Warrington responded to go 7-5 up, but after that Kersal took control playing with fantastic structure and scoring twice more in the first half through full-back Jack Snoddy and centre Sean Clayton.

Kersal piled on the pressure, being held up over the try line on three separate occasions, going into the break 17-7 up.

The hosts' mammoth defence in the second half kept the visitors at bay, extending their lead to 27-7 with scum-half Andy Frain flying down the blindside, setting up Tom Sullivan for his first of two tries in the game.

A try for Frain, linking up with wingers Thomas and Josh Blammon, followed by an interception by Sullivan, topped off the result.

The thirds lost 40-17 at Hope Valley, but on Sunday, the senior colts put on an impressive performance to beat Vale of Lune 34-7 at Stelfox Avenue.

A Tom Sullivan hat-trick, along with two tries from Alistair Merrill and one from Matt Ratcliffe, saw the home team bounce back from the previous week’s defeat. Two Max Brookes conversions added to the score.