Garstang RUFC 13 Dukinfield 12: Third straight victory in a bid to beat the drop

With doubts about the condition of Hudson Park following heavy rain in midweek, the game was moved to Preston Grasshoppers’ all-weather pitch.

Garstang came out of the blocks really quickly and they seemed to be enjoying the fast surface.

With just a few minutes gone, Jimmy McLennan burst through and charged towards the line but was pulled down just short.

The ball was recycled and allowed Greg Billington to gather and smash his way over, Duncan Lambert adding the extras to give Garstang an early 7-0 lead.

Garstang continued to impress, but midway through the half, they made a crucial mistake as they coughed up a simple try.

A speculative kick into the wasn’t dealt with, and as the loose ball bounced around, Dukinfield were first to react and scored in the corner.

After some Dukinfield pressure, it was Garstang who extended their lead got a penalty following Edgar Nicholls’ break with Lambert sending them into the break 10-5 up.

In the second period Garstang began to assert more control but they could not get the crucial breakthrough.

They had to settle for a single penalty from Kieran Davies, making a welcome return from a long-term injury, to lead 13-5.

Another Davies penalty bounced back off the upright with 10 minutes left, after which Dukinfield launched some last desperate attacks.

The Garstang defence repelled them time and again, but right on the final whistle, they went over for a score and a vital losing bonus point.

However, with all the teams below Garstang having games in hand and several contests between each other, the job is not done.

Garstang are back in action on Saturday when they go to Orrell (2.15pm).