For a second Saturday in a row Aspatria encountered an unwelcome lesson in clinical finishing.
Last week it was delivered by table toppers Middlesbrough and this one was handed out by second placed Northern who were 31-0 winners at Bower Park.
There is little doubt that both these sides will be participants in the race for promotion but that is scant consolation to an Aspatria side who threw everything into the battle for no reward.
Strange to report, during the game Aspatria had two extensive periods when they dominated play. The first of these immediately followed the opening whistle.
With less than three minutes played Aspatria should have taken the lead as full-back Guy Reed chased a kick across the line but a slight bobble of the ball prevented a certain score.
This incident was followed by a hammer blow to Aspatria as playmaker Ed Gate left the field through injury. It disrupted the home side but they did not relent in pressurising the Northern defence.
The game was being played mainly around the visitors 22 and only a major defensive effort by Northern kept the score at nil all. Penalties in favour of Aspatria came and went. Both centre Ryan Scott and scrum half Mark Watson went close to scoring but it just did not happen.
The dominance of Aspatria in field position and possession was broken around the 15-minute mark.
Northern had survived and now came back into contention. On 20 minutes a slick backline move handed them the first try of the day, aided by some slack tackling amongst the Aspatria ranks.
Aspatria now found themselves 7-0 down after a quarter of the game that they had dictated for the most part.
From this point Norther grew in stature and completely turned the tables on Aspatria by moving the bulk of play into or near the home 22.
Although under near constant pressure the Aspatria defence held tight but in the last five minutes of the half Northern took two of several opportunities to take the game away from the Black Reds.
Aspatria, down to 14 men with second row Riley Thwaites in the sin bin, found the pressure just too much. Both late scores resulted from precise movement by Northern that patiently dragged defenders out of position and left undefended gaps to hand the visitors a 19-0 half-time advantage.
The second half began with Aspatria marginally on top. For nearly 20 minutes they went toe to toe with Northern, marginally enjoying more possession and often in threatening positions.
During this period Aspatria also benefited from a superior set scrummage but Northern comfortably soaked up the pressure without conceding any scoreboard damage. With around 60 minutes played they were able to reassert control of the game.
Aspatria were pushed back and back, further hampered by a number of on-field injuries that impacted on the scrum, where Northern took back control.
In the face of the push by Northern further scores now looked certain. It was to Aspatria’s credit that they defended solidly until the final minutes of the game.
The home side could not deny Northern a bonus point try for 26-0 but conceding a final late score with only a couple of minutes on the clock was a bitter blow.
The game ended in a well-earned victory for Northern as they pursue title ambitions but a score line that was a harsh judgement on the balance of play.
Against both Northern, and previously Middlesbrough, the Black Reds have shown in open play they can live with the best this league has to offer. Still, the puzzle of turning opportunity into points remains unresolved.
