Westoe’s 34-3 defeat of Aspatria took full advantage of the Cumbrians travelling with a squad diminished by injury and unavailability.
The game went deep into the second half before the home side established dominance and this was more than partially due to Aspatria suffering a high number of on-field injuries to key players.
Another disappointing road trip for Aspatria leaves them languishing at the wrong end of the table.
The Black Reds will be pleased that there is no game scheduled for the coming Saturday which provides a period of respite for injuries to heal before the challenge of Stockton arrives at Bower Park.
The game was played in poor weather conditions but this did not hinder a lively start from Aspatria. Playing down the slope the visitors took the lead with three minutes gone courtesy of a Jack Clegg penalty.
The teams looked evenly matched with neither threating a try.
This state of affairs lasted until the 16th minute when penalties conceded by Aspatria allowed the home side forwards to grind towards the line and dot down following a dart from a ruck on the line.
The converted try advantage was increased with a penalty of 32 minutes.
No alarm bells yet for Aspatria who were still trading blows with the opposition but the rate at which Black Red players were going down and being patched up must have been causing concern to the coaching team.
The half finished without further score and again from the kick-off Aspatria looked the more likely to post a score. Good field position was secured but the final cutting edge that might have brought Aspatria back into the game was lacking.
All the while the injuries continued. Heinie Jonker and Greg Dickinson tried valiantly to carry on but to no avail.
Young hooker, Ryan Graham came off with a dislocated shoulder and any observer of the game could not help but notice various Aspatria players limping about the pitch just attempting to keep going.
This was just one of those days where it was inevitable that a competent opponent such as Westoe were bound to take advantage of at some point.
The sealing of Aspatria’s fate started with a try around 58 minutes. A third and a fourth followed in fairly quick succession, all taking benefit of a defence in disarray around the try line.
Although 27-3 down, no one should be in doubt that the players in Black and Red gave it everything they possessed and in the closing phases of the game there was still sufficient gas in the tank to push Westoe back against the try line.
Yet again attacks fizzled out and failed to bring any kind of reward. It really was a bitter blow when Westoe, with the final move of the game scored a fifth try.
