On a highly emotional day at Winters Park the Cumbrian derby saw Penrith beat Aspatria 41-5.
The hosts got the job done and secured the bonus point win they needed to keep within striking distance of Regional 2 North leaders Morpeth.
The afternoon’s proceedings had started with a minute’s silence for Penrith stalwart Ryan Johnson, who had died on the training pitch at the beginning of the month.
Visitors Aspatria presented Penrith’s captain Adan Howe with a wreath in Ryan’s memory.
When the game got underway any thought local rivals Aspatria were happy just to turn up and make the numbers up were soon dispelled.
They had the lion’s share of possession early on and even as the game went on and they went behind they still had a good share of the ball.
It was testament to the home defence that all this possession didn’t lead to any meaningful line breaks and by and large the visitors’ ball carriers were stopped in their tracks.
Overall the game provided evidence that the form book is seldom wrong. Penrith put in a ruthless display to enhance their promotion credentials.
Yet even in defeat Aspatria did enough to suggest to the large crowd that they have the qualities required to maintain a mid-table position and avoid the worst of a relegation dog fight.
Penrith got their noses in front after seven minutes after Jamie McNaughton kicked a penalty to the corner.
His forwards won their throw to the attacking line-out from where Scott Lancaster broke for the line and was stopped short.
McNaughton nearly broke through the middle but was again short. A long ball was then flung wide to Fraser Nicolson on the left wing who received it with three tacklers on him and did well to get almost to the line.
When the ball came inside it was George Graham who saw the gap for the opening score.
For the rest of the half there was little in it.
After 25 minutes Aspatria benefitted from two successive penalties to get themselves decent field position.
A try eluded them and an attempt by Jack Clegg to take points with a third penalty also failed. This seemed to be the time for Aspatria to strike but they came away with nothing in the bag.
As the first half closed Penrith began to increase their presence close to the Aspatria 22.
They had the West Cumbrians under the cosh as the half ended and had already kicked two penalties to the corners which had been well defended.
The home side were awarded a penalty 20 metres out and it was tapped and shifted to Andy Muir playing his 50th game for the club.
He ploughed into the defenders and carried on ploughing much further than he should have been allowed and almost made the line.
The ball then came left where Mason Lewthwaite found himself one on one a couple of yards out and there was only one winner as he barged over.
The home sid now led by two scores at 12-0 and was probably rather more than they deserved considering the visitors’ efforts but the nature of game was to change just minutes into the second period as Penrith added a third try.
The visitors were running the ball on their own 22 when Lewthwaite saw his opportunity. He was up quickly into the tackle, turned the ball over and got it sharply away to Sam Wilson who sucked in the cover before feeding McNaughton who coasted in at the corner.
They weren’t long in coming up with the fourth and bonus point try.
Penrith opted for the scrum when given a penalty 15 metres out. They won steady ball which came to the backs and Jay Rossi was hauled down just short.
The cavalry arrived in the shape of the forwards and it was captain Howe who bulldozed his way over.
Aspatria’s resolve did not dim but their ability to deal with the frantic pace generated by the home side quickly took away any hope of a reward.
Realistically, there was no way back for Aspatria in terms of the result but they did have the satisfaction of delivering the best try of the day to provide a sliver of consolation after 55 minutes.
Impressive forward pressure generated by Aspatria had the Penrith defence in a panic. The charge was stopped under the posts but the ball was moved out to Zak Olstrum who dotted down in the corner.
But Penrith were soon back in scoring mode and Muir provided the grunt to complete the next try after Graham and Howe had done the donkey work, getting within striking distance of the line.
The sixth try was a thing of beauty. From a scrum wide on the right and the whole width of the pitch to work with the backs ran a first phase move straight off the training pitch as the ball was moved rapidly wide to the left.
McNaughton hit the line wide from full back and his searing run took him into the 22 before shifting it to Nicolson who went in at the corner unopposed and round to the posts.
The final score fell to willing workhorse Chris Jackson, who when he won line-out ball close to the line and was left unmarked, simply rolled over the line for the score.
A simple glance at the score line did not tell the whole story as the home side had had a difficult afternoon emotionally and added to that an opposing side determined to make things as awkward as possible as they could by giving of their all.
Aspatria can take some credit from the way they played to their limits against a team who are surely heading for the league above.
