Going into this game, Keswick were in second place in the Regional 2 North table, having won their last five games, and Guisborough were in a lowly 11th place, writes Ben Challis.
But at the end of the day, the form book meant nothing and after a close, hard fought game, with three tries apiece and three conversions for Keswick and two for Guisborough, the visitors edged the win with a late penalty for the one point victory 21-22.
The Davidson Park pitch had been underwater on the Wednesday but the flooding had drained away and the surface looked in good condition, and Keswick started well, having the majority of possession, with charges from Ben Clark, Oli Clark and Jamie Wilson putting early pressure on the Guisborough try line, and allowing Joe Allday to scamper through a huge gap in the visitor’s defence to dive over right beside the sticks, converting his own try 15 minutes in.
A fired up Guisborough were undeterred, and cheered on my a large and vocal contingent of travelling supporters, the impressive Lewis Robson hit back with an excellent try just four minutes later which he also converted for 7-7. Keswick had a battle on their hands.
Guisborough then took the lead on the half hour after pushing up the field, aided by far too many penalties gifted to them by Keswick, and Alex Ruff broke clear on the left wing to dive in for an unconverted try.
The last score in the first half was from Keswick who used a driving maul to push down the left wing with Ally Hewett-Smith touching down and Allday providing an excellent conversion that curved in and glanced in off the inside of the post for a slim 14-12 lead at the break to the home side.
Guisborough then took the lead when Ben Buckworth capitalised on a line out earned from good pressure to dive over, with Robson adding a very good conversion for a 14-19 lead.
With the two sides very well matched in line outs and scrums, Keswick were not done, and it was Allday who got the final try of the match, set up from a driving maul and diving in under the sticks and converting the try for 19-21 with 30 minutes left to play.
This last half hour was not an easy watch for either sets of supporters, and as the clock ticked down the visitors took advantage of a penalty and Robson kicked what proved to be the winning goal, but there were still 20 minutes left on the clock.
Try as they might, Keswick just couldn’t get another score, with some excellent defence from Guisborough earning them a deserved win.
Keswick were missing a number of key players, but none more so than captain Peter Weightman and star kicker Kieran Mewse.
Weightman leads from the front, and Mewse’s kicking game is a key part of Keswick’s match play, and it was telling that the only penalty score of the game was from Guisborough’s Robson. Keswick do take one bonus point out of the game, but will rue the missed chances in the match, and a missed opportunity to go top of the table.
After the match head coach Garry Holmes said: “We knew Guisborough are a proud team, they are fully committed to their jobs, and they always make life uncomfortable for you.
They stopped us getting any rhythm in our game and kept the ball for long periods of time: as a result we gave 15 penalties away to Guisborough’s seven.
“The result of this is we failed to relieve pressure and create breathing space from our try line. It felt like the game would come to us but ultimately we ran out of time. We had some good moments in the game but we’re shadowed by some loss of concentration.
“Over the next two weeks, we will need to work on our ruck speed, get our defensive lineouts sorted out, and get ready for the tough run in as we face the teams around us in the league.
“Saturday is Cumbria Cup week and we will face a confident Carlisle side who are currently undefeated league leaders Cumbria 1, and who will be looking to show why they deserve to be in Regional 2 North following their shock relegation last season. We look forward to welcoming them to Davidson Park.”
On a day of surprises, the most extraordinary result was at Upper Eden, where the Cumbrian hosts inflicted the first defeat of the season on table toppers Northern, and a good win at that, running out with a 29-7 victory.
Aspatria, who have been struggling of late, drew 25-25 at home to Percy Park, Consett defeated West Hartlepool 38-26, Morpeth defeated Durham City 38-10, and of the top four, only Sunderland won, 41-13 away at Wigton.
Northern stay top of the table (34 points), Keswick second (30), Sunderland third (26) and Morpeth and Sunderland fourth and fifth, both on 25 points. Guisborough climb the table up to ninth spot, equal on 17 points with Aspatria (10th) and Durham City (11th).
