Cockermouth made the short journey to Keswick for what is always a hard fought local derby.
This Regional 2 North clash went the way of Keswick, who picked up a vital five point haul from a 28-3 victory.
From the kick off Cockermouth dominated possession but could not convert that into points due to solid Keswick defence, apart from one kickable penalty position.
It was successfully taken by Jamie Preston to give Cockermouth an early three points advantage.
A quarter of an hour into the game Keswick finally got possession and good field position. A slick handling move saw Ryan Weir speed through a gap to beat three players for pace and a well taken try under the posts which was converted by Kieran Mewse.
There was to be another 15 minutes of tight defence from both sides before Mewse scored from a skilful individual grubber kick which he chased to stretch the lead to 14-3 with the subsequent conversion.
Then just before half time Keswick set up a driving maul from a tap penalty with Henry Etisoy emerging from the pile of bodies as the try scorer. Mewse converted for a half-time lead of 21-3.
The second half started very much like the first with defences being to the fore.
Cockermouth continued to probe and to tackle and Keswick were starved of possession for a while.
The deadlock was broken by the arrival of Mike Tait from the bench to solidify the scrum and a series of strong forward runs by Keswick, led by Aaron Thompson, James Hinckley and Stephen Moss.
With the forwards starting to combine well and gaps appearing in the Cockermouth defence, Jamie Mackenzie took advantage with a barnstorming run to the line for the bonus point try converted by Mewse for a 28-3 lead.
Cockermouth never gave up and in the last quarter of the game they continued to press but Keswick’s defence held firm with a particularly impressive tackling display by eventual man of the match Henry Etisoy.
Keswick are taking the opportunity to blood younger players and there were solid displays from Ned Barnes and Sam Holt, gaining experience at the senior level. Overall it was a well-managed performance by Keswick and a much needed five pointer in league terms.
Keswick entertain Consett at the weekend with Keswick 2 hosting Workington. With the international matches showing in the club house it promises to be another big Saturday at Davidson Park.
