In Cumbria 1 Keswick had a very close game against Millom, ending the day with a 34-27 win after a tense battle, writes Ben Challis.
The visitors gained an early-two try lead, adding a penalty goal for good measure, but Keswick won thanks to two tries from Haydn Holmes, then tries from Jake Winter, Grant Reid and Sam Holt, with Ste Holloway kicking three conversions and a penalty goal.
This was another well attended game, with spectators back-to-back watching Keswick and West Hartlepool game (and sometimes watching both!) and the crowd was entertained by a pulsating match which, after the poor start by Keswick, was a thriller.
Bizarrely Winter, captain of Keswick’s Cumbria 1 team, touched down at exactly the same moment as Weightman, captain of the Regional 2 side, touched down on the pitch next door much to the delight of everyone of a Keswick persuasion!
With a very strong second half Keswick had a comfortable margin over Millom going into the final minutes, and a late try for the visitors did little to dampen the celebrations. The win lifts Keswick into 10th spot in the 14-club table.
After the match coach Martin Relph said: “After a positive pre-game session and warm-up, Keswick started the game slowly, with poor decision making and poor defence and this allowed Millom’s hard runners to gain momentum, scoring two early tries.
“After some straight talking, Keswick dug in and we saw the momentum shift. We started moving the ball wide into space and we took our opportunities well.
“That said, we would switch off and let Millom back into the game, and that was the theme until the final whistle, but we took the win.”
Garry Holmes added: “Our Cumbria 1 players are working really hard this year, knowing they have a tough season meeting the top six teams twice and the bottom seven only once.
“Our young players are showing huge improvements week on week, and they are giving us some real headaches in selection.
“The league is a great place for us to develop our young lads and gives them great experience when they play in Regional 2.
“As an adult section we are blessed with great people and a huge thanks to everyone involved in supporting the squad to get out on the field and represent the club.”
