After a week of heavy rain Keswick were pleased to be able to welcome Stockton in a crucial Regional 2 North clash at Davidson Park.
In the end a last minute try and conversion gave Keswick a dramatic 18-15 victory which moved them ahead of Stockton in the table.
It sets up another vital game on Saturday when they travel to South Shields Westoe who are level with Stockton, and both are a point behind Keswick.
The clubs had played each other before but long before the introduction of leagues by the RFU.
The first half was a cagey affair with defences on both sides being in the ascendancy. Good positional kicking from new fly half Kieran Mewse kept Keswick going forward and solid defence as always led by captain George Holme kept the game evenly balanced.
Stockton were marginally stronger in the pack but the new front row combination of James Hinckley, Grant Reid and John Addyman held their own against a bigger side.
The first half was decided on penalties with Stockton conceding two which were kicked by Mewse to one given up by Keswick so the hosts led 6-3 at the break.
The game came to life in the second half with Stockton stepping up a gear and using driving mauls and greater speed in attack where they quickly ran in two tries one of which was converted to get into a 6-15 lead.
Keswick then picked up the pace and launched attack after attack through driving forward play up the middle with big men Aaron Thompson, Mark Trow and Reid in the forefront but Stockton held firm.
The large crowd was calling out for the ball to be moved wide and eventually after one such move involving a cross kick by Mewse and passing back inside, Danny Craghill crossed the line to pull Keswick back to within four points.
The game then ebbed and flowed with Stockton attacking strongly and Keswick holding out with rock solid defence.
When Keswick tried to break out moving the ball out wide to Ryan Weir he looked dangerous whenever he was in possession but last ditch tackling from Stockton kept them out.
By this stage most supporters had resigned themselves to defeat until man of the match Reid followed up his own kick forward and charged down the return, winning the race to touch down for a try.
The home fans were ecstatic and the Mewse conversion was the last kick of the game to seal the Keswick win.
The Stockton team would have felt hard done by but they played their part in a great afternoon’s sport and took home a losing bonus point.
