Aspatria beat the big freeze to stage one of only two games played in the North 2 League. On balance, they probably wished the game had not survived the frost as Consett proved simply too good for the home side.
Consett’s win almost certainly guarantees them a place in the league for next season but worries of getting dragged into the relegation mire continue to haunt Aspatria.
At the moment they have a respectable points cushion but with a tough run of fixtures looming their current advantage may be in danger of evaporating.
Aspatria won’t offer excuses for what was, by their standards, a below-par performance, but the absence of key players due to injury remains a big concern.
Aspatria started the game with a spell of pressure that looked capable of sweeping Consett away.
During this period the home side really should have taken the lead. The best chance came from a rolling maul that took the home pack and the ball to within inches of the line but was stopped short by some terrific Consett defending.
Following this initial flurry of positive play, Aspatria were hit by a majestic piece of rugby conjured up by the Consett fullback.
Aspatria launched an aimless kick into his arms and from 65 yards out a weaving run ended up by the home posts with a number of defenders on their backsides.
10 minutes in and Consett held a 0-7 lead. At that early stage it was against the run of play but the score changed the mood of the game and Consett took full advantage to pen Aspatria into their half.
Steven Stoddard did bring Aspatria back into the game with a long range penalty but all the attacking momentum remained with the visitors.
Aspatria went down to 14 men when second row Jude Wilkinson was yellow carded for an illegal tackle. This kick started a prolonged period of action close to the Aspatria line. The defence was initially good and the home side escaped unscathed.
For a short period it looked as if Aspatria might get back into the contention. Wilkinson rejoined the action just as a Consett’s try scorer received a yellow card and in the process conceding field position in their 22. This was an opportunity for Aspatria to put a mark on the game but it was wasted.
With only a minute left in the first half, Aspatria scrum half Alex Barton was yellow carded and once again this put Consett in position to run a penalty. This time they did not miss and were over the line before the Aspatria defence could get itself fully into position.
Consett started the second period with a 3-12 advantage but quickly extended this. Within a few minutes the visiting hooker picked up a loose kick around halfway. It did not look particularly dangerous but his run up the left touchline was near enough unopposed and deep in the home 22 an easy offload delivered try number 3.
Conversions were being missed and at 3-17 Aspatria should not have been out of this game. Played evened out but there were few signs of the home side having the ability to mount a realistic comeback.
Into the final quarter and Consett were able to tighten their grip on the end result with a bonus point try.
This was a score of some skill. In the home 22 a delicate chip kick over the massed Aspatria defence was perfect for one of the Consett flyers to race onto and score.
The go forward remained with Consett and with 10 minutes remaining they added to the 3-22 score line, ending any faint hope of an Aspatria recovery. Indeed, Aspatria had saved their best until last.
For the final minutes of the game Aspatria were able to deliver rugby that pushed Consett back against the try line.
The defence became increasingly desperate and in the process Consett suffered another yellow card.
The push continued and Jamie Lightfoot at No8 found enough of a gap to squeeze through for a consolation score.
