Upper Eden took another step towards Regional 2 North safety when they beat county rivals Keswick 20-13.
It was a disappointing result for Keswick as they had been particularly dominant in the scrum during the first quarter of the game.
From the kick-off the visitors were quick to launch an attack into the Eden half and put several good phases of play together testing the home defence. Sam Birkbeck put in a big tackle on one occasion and was ably supported by his brother Will Birkbeck.
It was Keswick who took the lead with a penalty from Steve Holloway and as they dominated the set scrums looked well placed to push on but as the rain started to fall the ball proved difficult to handle for both teams.
Eden took play into the Keswick 22, where a powerful drive from Will Birkbeck was held up in front of the posts. Eden recycled the ball and Ollie Rose fed Alexander Darroch who put a deft kick over the defence for Matthew Brass to touch down for an Eden lead of 5-3.
Eden conceded a series of penalties and remained under pressure at the set scrum but John Blue was introduced to the game and the reshuffled Eden forwards had a positive impact on the scrum.
Blue made a good break out of defence supported by Will Birkbeck to take play into the opposition’s half, where excellent support from Sam Birkbeck and Travis Simpson gave the Pennine Park men some good momentum.
They were awarded a penalty for Keswick collapsing a driving maul and Rose converted for an 8-3 lead which they held until half-time.
From the re-start Keswick started on the attack but solid defence from Will and James Birkbeck nullified their efforts.
However Keswick were awarded a series of scrums and were dominating the set piece again, eventually being awarded a penalty try with Eden’s Cameron Dickinson receiving a yellow card following a melee involving both sets of players.
Keswick were then awarded a further penalty which was converted by Holloway to give them a 13-8 lead.
The Eden forwards combined well to drive the ball into the heart of the Keswick 22 with the influential Rose calling the shots at scrum half. Sam Birkbeck crossed the line only to be held-up by the visitors’ defenders.
Eden regained possession for James Birkbeck to make good yards, and when the home team were awarded a penalty a quick tap by Rose fed Blue who crossed for their second try and Rose’s conversion edged them in front again at 15-13.
Eden were playing with a lot of heart and spirit and regained the ball from the re-start and Rose kicked a 50-22 to give Eden the advantage. From the line-out the Eden forwards set up a driving maul and made good ground into the heart of the Keswick 22.
As the maul appeared to slow the remaining Pennine Park men joined the move to add weight and drive the evergreen Dave Birkbeck over the line to touch down for the third try.
With only minutes remaining, Keswick launched several attacks on the Eden line but the home team’s defence was solid and disciplined and they thwarted all efforts until the final whistle.
- A youthful Upper Eden Boars faced stiff opposition against an experienced Hartlepool Rovers, and actually travelled with only 11 players with the opposition giving them three men. They went under 31-22 with try scorers for the Boars being Harley Sowerby (2) and Rueben English with man of the match Sowerby doing the kicking with two conversions and a drop goal.
