A 41-24 defeat for Aspatria at West Hartlepool might sound pretty disappointing.
But given the disruption the Black Reds experienced during the week in the selection of a pack, taking home a try bonus point was a well earned reward.
Several Aspatria regulars were unavailable for the trip to the north east, but those who made the journey acquitted themselves well against a formidable home side.
Wests took the lead with 12 minutes played, and this was never relinquished. Towards the end of the first half, Aspatria closed the deficit to a single score and, with just seven minutes remaining, had closed the gap to ten points.
However, Wests maintained control throughout the contest, always looking in charge of the result.
The Aspatria scrum experience pressure for the full 80 minutes but rarely buckled. Indeed, thanks to the superb Steve Nelson at number eight and his ball retention skills, the set piece provided sufficient possession to trouble Wests.
The line-out also worked reasonably well with scrum half Jack Clegg drafted in for throwing duties.
After a couple of early errors, things settled down, and Aspatria were able to control the bulk of their ball.
Aspatria had the first opportunity to open the scoring with three minutes played, but a long-range penalty from Clegg slipped the wrong side of the upright.
It was a wake-up call for Wests, who used a couple of penalties to gain territory in the visitors’ 22.
Aspatria’s defence initially held, but could not clear the ball. Wests built up the pressure with several controlled phases, and the first try was delivered.
On 18 minutes, a penalty extended the lead to 10-0, but around this time, Aspatria’s lively backline proved more than capable of launching counter-attacks to test the West defence.
The best of these came on 21 minutes when Clegg took a quick tap penalty and hared-off up-field.
A further penalty helped Aspatria construct a controlled catch and drive.
The move ended close to the West try line, but the pack could not take advantage of the position, and the home side escaped without damage.
Wests, once again, moved into Aspatria territory and registered a second try with some excellent work to not only steal ruck ball but create a wide open gap for a solo forward charge to the line.
With a 15-0 lead after 24 minutes Wests looked comfortable. Perhaps, over comfortable, as in the final few minutes, Aspatria came back into contention.
The first of two tries resulted from a 50/20 kick from fullback Grant Bethwaite, which provided position in the home 22.
Wests initially regained possession, but a knock-on handed it back to Aspatria.
From the scrum Nelson broke to his right and, with the line beckoning unselfishly, unloaded to winger Kai Gilhespy to take the ball into the corner and score.
Aspatria received the restart and launched what could only be described as a speculative kick back into West territory.
This seemed to cause chaos in the home defence and Aspatria charged through en-masse to secure possession. A quick unload to left wing Dan Weir put him over the line.
Ryan Scott, on goal-kicking duties, nailed the conversion to finish the half at 15-12.
With the second half underway, it did not take too long for Wests to re-assert some control. Their third try came with five minutes played.
This was an example of effective recycling of the ball until the opposition ran out of defenders, and that is what happened to extend the home lead to 20-12.
The home bonus point try followed shortly after and after the conversion it felt like game set and match.
However, Aspatria refused to lie down. Matthew Atkinson, relinquishing his coaching role to bolster the pack, began to take up midfield positions.
Atkinson is a hard man to put down, and each time he came into possession, yards were made to put Aspatria back on the front foot.
With the game edging into the final quarter, one of these bursts was the catalyst for an outright assault on Wests, which ended with Nelson going over for a third Aspatria try.
The conversion brought the score back to a ten point deficit. However a quick response by Wests dispelled any thoughts of anything better.
Aspatria were looking a little ragged in defence, and another flash of pace from the home backs extended their advantage to 34-17 with around 15 minutes to play.
It was not looking good for Aspatria when back rower Charlie Scott was yellow carded for an illegal tackle, and he was shortly followed by Ryan Scott for a similar offence.
In between these two actions, Aspatria managed to score again and secure a try bonus point.
The score came from Nelson again, breaking left off the back of a scrum and more or less taking the home defence out of the game when the pass went to Weir, who capped an exceptional performance with a second score.
Clegg slotted the conversion to bring the score back to 34-24. But down to 13 men, it seemed an impossibility for Aspatria to do any better.
This did not stop them from trying, and attacks were still being launched into the closing minutes. There was some amusement on the touchline when one of
Aspatria’s last attacks was eventually diffused by the home side. The final nail came with nothing much left on the clock.
It was a bizarre try by Wests starting at an Aspatria scrum. It appeared to many that an illegal action had taken place when the ball was booted out of the set piece downfield into an undefended area and dotted down by Wests.
A whistle was anticipated to award Aspatria a penalty, but it did not come, and Wests were perhaps a little flattered by the resulting final score.
Aspatria move on to Saturday when they defend their 100 per cent home record against Durham City.
Coach Andy Brown will be relieved in the knowledge that he will have a full set of forwards to choose from and a set of backs that are improving with every game.
