For the second week in a row Workington Zebras tasted the bitter pill of agonisingly missing out on a victory.
In their latest Counties 1 Cumbria contest they stumbled to a 27-20 defeat to Windermere at The Ellis.
This was not only Windermere’s maiden win of the season but also a historic one, as they hadn’t beaten the Zebras since 1997 at home and indeed, it was their first success on Workington soil for 30 years, but most importantly it lifted them up four places from rock bottom to 10th.
Any perceptions that it would be a picnic for the Zebras were swiftly dampened as the opening ten minutes were pretty much even, as both sides made attacking surges while also displaying impressive scrummaging.
But then Windermere took a tighter grip and external pressure in Zebras territory was rewarded with a penalty to break the deadlock after 15 minutes.
However, Workington wasted no time in regaining the momentum and from the re-start proceeded to push their opponents as they gradually worked the ball deep into their half and it was Rob Hodgson who snaffled the final pass before charging over for the Zebras’ first try, followed by a smooth conversion from Cade Bales.
It got better when they increased their lead on 22 minutes as once again, Hodgson made a mockery of his evergreen status when he delivered a burst of pace just inside the Windermere half and his clinical off-load was collected by John McCrickerd who coolly touched down for an unconverted try.
The men from the Lakes refused to buckle and a spell of external pressure through well-crafted attacks was ultimately rewarded nine minutes before the break as they cut through the Zebras defence to go under the posts for their first try of the afternoon, with the following conversion reducing the deficit to only two points.
But Workington were able to finish the first half in control when they snatched back the upper hand with a penalty from Bales two minutes from half time to make it 15-10 at the interval.
The second half began with both sides cancelling each other out with strong scrummaging, but it was Windermere who began to launch attacks into Workington’s half as they pushed and stretched them with neat passing and fast movement.
At every turn, however, there was a Zebras defensive wall tirelessly protecting the try line.
Suddenly, on 52 minutes, a smart dummy pass caught the Zebras flat-footed and Windermere nipped in to score an unconverted try that levelled the scores.
Windermere knew that the match could be theirs for the taking and on the hour mark, they regained their lead as they launched more attacks that punished slack Zebras marking before rounding off with another try, which was converted to give them a seven-point cushion.
By this point, Workington were shell-shocked and badly needed to regain control – which they did from the re-start and after a combination of impressive surges, dogged scrummaging and patiently working the ball deep into Windermere’s half their dominance was rewarded on 72 minutes when David Wordsworth broke free from a scrum to crash down for a well-deserved try, but hopes of levelling the score were dashed with the conversion just falling short.
With the score now 22-20 in Windermere’s favour it was still anybody’s game and a grandstand finish to a intriguing match loomed large.
Four minutes from time, Windermere again left the Zebras floundering to register their fourth try and secure a bonus point. With no conversion, the seven-point margin was restored.
Workington threw everything at their opponents as time ticked away and in the closing seconds got within sight of the try line, but Windermere won the ball, kicked it out of touch and the final whistle sounded.
To say that Workington were deflated would be an understatement – they knew that this was a match they should have won, but credit goes to Windermere for refusing to surrender and a few more performances like that will see them in mid-table security.
There are some positives for the Zebras – the elder statesmen (Rob Hodgson, Tom Lawson, Chris Stringer etc) all rolled back the years while Cade Bales continues to be confident and composed at stand-Off and with every game is making the number 10 shirt his own.
