A moment of carelessness twenty minutes from time put an end to any chance Beverley might have had of getting something out of this game.
Birkenhead held a narrow lead at 10-7 and at that stage it was still anybody’s match. Beverley made a mess of a lineout and this led to a converted Birkenhead try. It proved to be the defining moment of the match. After that it was really all over for Beverley.
As so often this season they started at a terrific pace. But Birkenhead with about their first foray into Beverley territory were awarded a penalty in front of the posts which was slotted to give them an unlikely lead. Beverley were playing well and Glen Walden, Phil Dale, and David Worrall all nearly got over as they moved the ball about crisply and made light of the makeshift nature of their line-up caused by injuries and late withdrawals.
Birkenhead then scored a converted try, but Beverley then responded minutes later with a nicely worked try by James McKay who looked surprisingly at home as a makeshift winger. Duboulay converted from wide out to bring the score to 10-7 at halftime.
In the second half Beverley had to mount a terrific rear-guard action to withstand some powerful driving by the home pack. Gavin Gibson was superb and his fellow lock Matty Adams put in an impressive afternoon’s grafting before making way for Dave Brant. The Beverley defending was outstanding, particularly while they were down to fourteen with Junior Tupai in the sin bin. Some of Goran Jelencic’s ferocious tackling especially was enough to bring a tear to the eye.
But Beverley were finding it increasingly hard to get away from their own line. Gibson, Francis Pickering, Mark Hatfield, and later on Danny Morris, all drove forward determinedly. Then came the disastrous lineout leading to the crucial score to put Birkenhead 17-7 ahead. Suddenly a three point deficit had become ten. The position was not insurmountable but it proved beyond Beverley’s grasp.
Two scores behind and with a tiring pack Beverley stuck at it but in the last ten minutes the big home pack twice rumbled over for two converted tries. Beverley got some reward at the death for a brave effort when flanker Dale Hodgson made a fine break in midfield to set up a late consolation try for Worrall. It was a disappointing result but on the day Beverley could have few complaints.
Final score – Birkenhead Park 31 Beverley RUFC 12
Match action from when the sides met at Beaver Park in the 2009 / 2010 season
Match action from when the sides met at Beaver Park in the 2009 / 2010 season
