Aspatria could not have been landed with a more daunting fixture to finish their away game schedule, than a visit to top of the table Percy Park.
Park boasts the best attack and defence in the league and at kick-off needed only a win to be crowned champions of the Regional 2 North league, with a game to spare.
They achieved this by some margin, producing a display that Aspatria ultimately could not live with as it finished 69-7 to the home side.
Aspatria sent a reasonably strong line-up to the North East but from early in the game all the momentum was with the home side that can rarely have played better.
There was ample resistance on show from Aspatria in the early stages of the first half. Indeed up until the 28 minute mark Percy Park only held a 7:0 lead and the visitors had generated a couple of positive attacks without reward.
Only ten or so minutes remained in the first half when the dam burst and in that short time frame Park scored three tries to end the half 24-0 to the good. Two of these scores were a direct result of unforced Aspatria errors and this set the tone for the second half.
Into the second period and home tries just kept coming. It was not exactly one way traffic as there were instances of resistance from Aspatria. However, the Park back division simply had too much guile and pace for a badly bruised defence to cope with.
Aspatria’s moment of consolation came on 51 minutes when a rare foray into home territory set up a charge over the line by Tom Gardner.
At this stage the score was 36-7 but home tries kept coming at regular intervals and Aspatria were well beaten.
In the final analysis Park were just too good for Aspatria on this day and provided irrefutable evidence that they are the standout side in the league.
No consolation for Aspatria but they do have one remaining home league fixture on April 6 when Middlesbrough visit Bower Park. This is a game that the Black Reds will want to use to rid them of a Percy Park nightmare.
