Aspatria suffered a second consecutive defeat when they went down 28-18 at Stockton, a result that keeps them at the bottom of Regional 2 North.
The Black Reds had their chances to take something from the game but in the final analysis this was a deserved win for the home side who conjured up a monumental defensive effort when it mattered.
Aspatria enjoyed a positive start to the game but handling at a crucial moment let them down and this was to be a constant theme throughout the game.
Too many times when the hard work had been done a loose carry or ill-timed off-load let the opposition off the hook.
Stockton proved effective in taking advantage of errors made by Aspatria and a lively set of home backs tested the Black Reds’ defensive resolve. The visitors held firm in the early stages of the contest and seemed comfortable in protecting the try line.
The first score came around ten minutes when Aspatria were again moving the ball from their own 22 up-field but in doing so conceded an easy penalty opportunity to Stockton for them to take the lead.
The lead lasted only a matter of minutes. Aspatria spent some time challenging in, or around, the Stockton 22 but were frustrated and eventually opted for a Mark Watson penalty to level the scores.
There was calamity at the restart after Stockton tried what is known in the trade as a ‘funny’. The short stab-kick was anticipated by Aspatria who initially regained possession but immediately gave it up and in broken play the Stockton backs took full advantage with a move that took them to the try line and delivered an 8-3 lead.
Stockton’s second try on 26 minutes again found Aspatria guilty of giving up ball possession. Some earlier instances of the same offence had gone unpunished but not this time and the scoreboard moved around to 15-3.
Setting aside the ball retention issue there were some good points emerging for Aspatria. The line-out was looking efficient and in the set scrum they had a clear advantage. Both these came into play near the end of the first half to return a degree of optimism.
For the final minutes of the half Aspatria battered the Stockton line, when more patience might have seen a reward but the unescapable reason for the lack of a try has to be a Stockton defensive effort that just would not give up the fight.
With the whistle about to blow and another home penalty conceded Aspatria took a pragmatic approach and a second Watson penalty ended play at 15-6.
The second half started as the first finished, with Aspatria on top as their pack had complete control of the set piece and a ball won against the head in the home 22 provided the platform for a slick backline move which opened a gap for centre Kai Gilhespy to go over.
With only four minutes of the half played Aspatria were back in touch but the hope soared and then crashed. At the re-start possession was handed back to Stockton and pressure came back on Aspatria.
The third Stockton try did not come immediately but from an Aspatria view it was self-inflicted damage as a good opportunity to clear the danger was missed and moments later from a quick tap penalty Stockton struck to extend the lead.
Aspatria were shaken and before the shock of the set-back had dissipated the home side’s bonus point try followed. By any standards this was a fine try, requiring elements of pace, vision and determination as the ball was run out of the home half, up to and over the try line.
There was no lack of physical effort from Aspatria and gradually they began to push Stockton back into defensive mode and engineer a strike back. Yet again an Aspatria set scrum around five meters out blew a hole in the Stockton defence and opened up a wide blind side enabling right winger Matthew Bell to slide in at the corner flag and restore hope at 25-18.
In the final 10 minutes a killer blow for Aspatria came as they conceded a penalty and let the lead slide back to 10 points.
With the clock ticking away the chase was on for Aspatria to get a score, any score that would deliver a losing bonus point.
In isolation it was a good effort from the men in black and red and with nothing much left on the clock they seemed to have achieved their goal when the referee awarded a penalty to Aspatria in a very kickable position.
But the man in the middle eventually reversed that decision leaving Aspatria empty handed.
