An altogether strange and costly game away at Rochdale’s Bamford ground last Saturday, ending in defeat for Park and survival for Rochdale RFC in National League Three (North) for another season.

To be fair to Rochdale RFC, they deserved their victory and fought hard to acquire it, against the best side that Park could put out on the day, the forwards having been decimated by injuries and unavailability.

Altogether there were nearly twenty minutes of injury time, twelve minutes in the first half and eight in the second, in a game littered with stoppages due to injuries.

Park ended up with fourteen men on the field after a series of contact area injuries that could have been policed better by the official in attendance, who is usually very good.

Scoring three tries away from home, through Shaun McCARTHY in the first half and Matt LISTER and Ritchie YOUNG after oranges, you would have thought would have been rewarded by some league points. However, it wasn’t to be, on a day when Rochdale played the best they could and Park lost another game in which they could have and should have done better.