Keswick had a good record against Middlesbrough in Regional 2 North and once again they took them all the way before losing 16-13.
The healthy crowd at Davidson Park knew that the match against the League leaders would be a tough battle, but buoyed by the resounding win over Carlisle the previous weekend, spirits were high.
The afternoon light sank away and the drizzle and rain arrived but this was a fire cracker of a game with Keswick pushing the visitors right to the end.
Keswick went behind, took the lead and dominating possession for a substantial period of the game before finally losing out by just one penalty kick.
The opening ten minutes were intense as the two packs tested each other out, but on a greasy and damp playing surface, handling errors from both sides saw the play move up and down the field of play.
It was Middlesbrough who took the lead with a charge up the left wing for an unconverted try.
Keswick responded almost immediately, taking possession of the ball from a line-out and muscling their way down the left wing in front of the new club house with a driving maul.
It ended with Matty Roper touching down under a pile of bodies by the corner flag and Kieran Mewse succeeded with a difficult conversion for a Keswick lead of 7-5.
Another unconverted try from Middlesbrough, again on the left wing, saw Middlesbrough re-take the lead before a Mewse penalty kick brought things level to 10-10 at half-time.
It was now anyone’s game, and both sides had chances, but second half scoring opportunities were restricted to penalties.
Middlesbrough re-took the lead on their second attempt, Mewse equalised again for 13-13, before the visitors again re-took the lead with a high floating penalty goal which just squeezed inside the left-hand post.
A superb run from Chris Potter took Keswick deep into the Middlesbrough half, where they gained a penalty, only for Mewse to finally miss a kick, which left the League leaders ahead with 15 minutes left.
That finale was dominated by Keswick as they repeatedly attacked the Middlesbrough try line, but to no avail as the visitors defended well and held out for the narrowest of wins.
Keswick coach Garry Holmes said: “I was really pleased with the effort again this week. We wanted to match Middlesbrough physically, and we did, and we clearly frustrated them by preventing them gaining the momentum that they wanted.
“Glen Weightman and Kieran Mewse managed the game well, and their ability to put distance between the ball and our try line just added to Middlesbrough’s frustrations.
“Everyone dug in deep all afternoon, and it was brilliant to see Liam Quail get his First XV debut.
“We would have been happy with a point at the start of the day against a good side. However, we came off feeling like this was a missed opportunity. As we continue to grow as a squad, our confidence and experience will develop, and these types of performances will start to turn into wins.”
It was a thrilling and tense match, not the win the home crowd wanted, but a resounding endorsement of the fact that even with an injury-hit squad, Keswick can compete at this level and compete well.
