CHORLEY Panthers U11 team combined well to beat Haydock U11 26-22 while the other local sides in action were all going down.

The U11 squad performed superbly to clinch victory in an extremely close game in which they had to work hard on defence in the last few minutes to hold on.

Try scorers for the Panthers were top-tackler Stephen Lucas (2), most-improved player Michael Robinson (2) and man of the match Scot Atkins. There were impressive debut games from Chris Borron and Daniel Lenz.

Thatto Heath U7 team coasted to a 30-8 victory over the Panther youngsters who pressed time after time but only managed to break the Heath defence twice, with excellent scores from Patrick Taylor and Ryan Addison.

West Bank U10 beat Panthers U10 24-10 in a thrilling encounter at Widnes where the final score didn't do justice to the efforts of the enthusiastic Panthers. Chorley recovered well from a slow start and, following tries from Josh Charnley and Sam McNally, who touched down in the corner after a brilliant passing move, the Panthers were right back in the game at 18-10. However, West Bank sealed their victory when they grabbed a late try after Chorley lost possession over their own try line.

Heath's U12s beat the Panthers U12 team 14-6 as Chorley fell away in the second half. Top tacklers Michael Hilton and Steven Mayren put in the big hits in and most improved players Graham Davies and Robert Campbell took the attack to Thatto. The Chorley try was a cracker from Anthony McMullen who intercepted a Thatto pass and scorched 90 metres to score under the post.