If any Penrith player thought they were in for an easy afternoon because of Carlisle’s stuttering start to the season they soon realised their mistake.
The city side were young, fit and well-motivated, very well organised and excellent in defence if a little one dimensional in attack.
Indeed the home side were more than happy with their win after trailing for more than half the game.
There could be no faulting Carlisle’s effort, but set piece issues and a lack of clinical accuracy at crucial times are costing them dear in this league.
There was little between the sides in the first half although the home side did have the opposition pack under pressure at the set piece.
The Penrith eight had the nudge on the visitors’ set scum and on more than one occasion drove them off their own ball and JJ Key, jumping for the home side at the front of the lineout, was able to disrupt the Carlisle throw in as well as dominate his own ball.
The home side didn’t help themselves by trying to open things out too early and their own mistakes, and the visitors’ strong defence, kept them at bay and the game was very untidy.
Carlisle opened the scoring after an infringement at the breakdown by the home side, gave fly half James Telford a relatively straightforward gift of three points from the resulting 30 metre penalty.
Penrith’s pack then drove Carlisle off their own scrum ball and number eight Key broke to start the ball moving wide before the home backs ran out of room close to the line.
The referee brought play back for a penalty at the scrum and Mike Fearon knocked the kick over to level the scores.
As half time approached both sides had chances to score. Jamie McNaughton punched a penalty to the corner for an attacking five metre- lineout.
His forwards took the throw but couldn’t muscle their way over. However, when the defenders were penalised a second time the home side opted for a scrum.
They had been shunting the city side’s scrum back all the game but this one never moved, Penrith then went through the phases and were eventually penalised for hanging on at a ruck.
Carlisle looked dangerous on the break, and eventually a storming run by Dan Holmes down the left, allowed Carlisle to establish a ruck within a few metres of the Penrith try line.
Going through the phases sucked the home defence into defending fairly tightly, and scrum half Vince Lung, spotting a gap in the defence, slipped between three defenders to go over under the posts for a try, converted by Telford, and a deserved 10-3 lead at half time.
Penrith’s forwards began to take control in the second half and they were on even terms within ten minutes.
They won a line-out in the visitors’ 22 on the right, and the ball was spun left where Brad Taylor and Matty Boustead combined to get play almost to the line.
The forwards appeared in support and several drives later it was Lee Chapman who forced his way over the line. Matt Allinson didn’t have the easiest of conversions to level the scores but he struck it nicely and all was to play for.
A couple of minutes later Allinson had a penalty shot from 30 metres to put his side’s noses in front and again his aim was true and Penrith led for the first time.
They were then penalised at the restart and had to defend two lineouts deep in their own 22 when the penalty was kicked to the corner. Key took both throws to lift the pressure on his side and launch Penrith back into the visitors’ half.
Penrith scored a second try from a line-out 20 metres out. Mason Lewthwaite took the ball at the tail of the line and set up a driven maul to the try line.
This time the home side did get a nudge on and inched forward to the line where Key eventually forced his way over in the corner.
Allinson knocked over the touchline conversion and Penrith now looked relatively comfortable at 20-10.
The game was then put to bed when Penrith, at first, made a mess of securing possession at a line-out on half-way. The ball found its way to Boustead behind the line-out on the blindside wing.
This was the first chance he had in broken play and he made the most of it. None of the forwards left in the line-out laid a hand on him and he then his pace took him between two defenders and the best the fullback could do was to shepherd him into the corner.
There were just over 10 minutes left on the clock and Penrith would have liked a fourth bonus point try but as the game drew to a close it was Carlisle who looked the more likely scorers.
The visitors did their best to try to get back into the game, but were simply unable to break through beyond Penrith’s 22 and the game ended as another Carlisle attack just fizzled out in sight of the Penrith try line.
