Workington Town took the bragging rights in the League One Cumbria derby at the Fibrus Community Stadium on Good Friday.
They defeated Whitehaven 10-8, a Jake Carter penalty conversion the decider on the day.
The game started in an ongoing downpour as the earlier drizzle tuning to rain, but that didn’t stop a good sized and very vocal crowd crowd of more than 2,300 cheering on both sides as battle commenced.
And what a battle it was, and within two minutes Whitehaven’s captain Jordan Burns was taken off the field of play after a nasty looking knock to his face which was later confirmed as a broken eye socket and a fractured cheekbone.
The first 20 minutes saw some massive tackles from both sides, and also a series of errors as the slippery ball added to the fun.
It was Town who opened the scoring on 25 minutes with a Carter penalty conversion for a late shot on Callum Phillips, and Whitehaven replied with their own penalty goal from Jay Weatherill from a penalty awarded by referee Adam Williams against Town for offside.
And that was it for scores in the first half, with Haven also losing Jake Pearce to a head injury, although Ethan Bickerdike returned from a head injury assessment.
Workington started the second half the better and began to dominate possession, and Jamie Doran set up an excellent play with the ball shifted right where Levi Atiga dived in millimetres away from touch to score in the right corner with a one handed finish on 52 minutes, although Carter missed the conversion.
At 6-2 up, Whitehaven’s Brad Brennan gave away a penalty for dissent whilst Haven were in possession, and Carter took the opportunity to extend the home side’s lead for 8-2.
A Connor Holliday high shot on Town’s Guy Graham again saw Carter take the two and Workington now had a 10-2 lead as the clock ticked down.
A fractious last 10 minutes saw Town’s Will Evans and Haven’s Jack Newbegin both collect a yellow card for fighting.
Entertaining to the last, Workington’s Zarrin Galea came close to breaking through the Whitehaven defence before being hauled down a yard short of the try line, but it was Whitehaven who grabbed a late score after a fantastic run from Weatherill saw Mason Lewthwaite touch down with Weatherill immediately converting, but it was just too late and the final whistle and Town edged the win at the Fibrus Community Stadium.
