Upper Eden delivered a hard lesson to Aspatria in this vital relegation clash.
The one-sided scoreline heavily favoured Upper Eden. Be in no doubt it was fully deserved.
Aspatria will have no complaints but must examine how this could be; in a game which looked eminently winnable as the first half closed.
Aspatria arguably shaded possession throughout the game and certainly enjoyed lengthy periods of time in the home 22 but simply could not turn this into points.
The Upper Eden defence was superb on the day, and that was the key component in delivering victory.
The home attack clearly played its part with 5 tries, but these came from limited opportunities and owed much to an Aspatria defence that never looked organised or confident.
of the league season, all 12 participating clubs will be involved in fixtures that have a bearing on either relegation or promotion.
Aspatria’s positive start at Upper Eden did not produce points but did indicate that this should be a much closer contest than it would turn out to be.
The scoring deadlock was broken on 11 minutes with a home penalty. This was the commencement of a lengthy period of ball retention by Upper Eden which Aspatria efficiently defended before transferring play back to the home half.
With 25 minutes play it remained 3-0 to Upper Eden but they were down to 14 men as they defended a series of Aspatria attacks.
Aspatria came close to taking the lead when Jack Clegg at stand-off chipped over the defence but right wing Lewis Barwise just lost out in the race to touch down.
A penalty for Aspatria levelled the score at 3 all but also punctured the pressure Aspatria were exerting on Upper Eden.
The home side took full advantage of the release. Aspatria botched the restart and Upper Eden used the coughed up possession to walk in a try to establish a 10-3 advantage.
A second Aspatria penalty brought the score back to 10-6 and it looked possible that more points could be garnered as the visitors attacked in the closing minutes of the half.
The complete reverse happened as penalties conceded released Upper Eden from Aspatria’s grip and handed them a late, unexpected attacking position.
Aspatria had opportunities to clear the ball and end the first half but failed, mishandling and gifting Upper Eden a score to end play.
Upper Eden started the second period with a 17-6 advantage but it was still game on.
Upper Eden were rampant from the whistle and this produced a try of real quality that extended the lead to 24-6. Aspatria looked shell-shocked and minutes later handed Upper Eden a 4th bonus point try with more defensive indecision.
At 29-6 down Aspatria began to consistently push Upper Eden back into their 22.
It was a fairly dominant display but without any tangible results despite Upper Eden losing two players to yellow cards.
Aspatria hammered the Upper Eden line but failed to cross it.
There was still a final lesson remaining for the visitors as Upper Eden came into possession late in the game. It was an increasingly rare attack but it still had enough about it to deliver a final try.
For Aspatria, the mission is now clear and that is to find a way to turn possession into points.
Despite a full 5 points earned by Upper Eden, both they and Aspatria remain in four-way fight to avoid the remaining relegation slot in Division 2 North.
Their fate will be determined on April 5 in the final round of the season. Also in the fight for survival are Carlisle and Guisborough.
Nothing is certain except that all can save themselves with a win, apart from Guisborough who must win and rely on one of the other three slipping up, a very realistic prospect considering the fixtures they face.
- Aspatria v Kirkby Lonsdale
- Durham City v Carlisle
- Morpeth v Guisborough
- Keswick v Upper Eden
At the top of the league, Middlesbrough and Northern are currently separated by a slender points difference of 9. Their fixtures are:
- Consett v Middlesbrough
- West Hartlepool v Northern
All of this means that on the final day of the league season, all 12 participating clubs will be involved in fixtures that have a bearing on either relegation or promotion.
