It is a great pity that Aspatria cannot bottle the first 25 minutes of their home game with West Hartlepool for future use!
They were nothing short of superb, using this time to establish a 22-0 lead before using the remainder of the first half to implode spectacularly.
In the end they won the Regional 2 North clash 35-30 as they saved the game with just five minutes remaining.
In a tense finish the nerves of Aspatria supporters were near shredded during a final period of play where any result seemed possible.
For the time being, the five points earned by Aspatria take them out of a relegation play-off game, which decides the team to follow Wigton out of the league.
The margin of safety is a slender two points, but at least Aspatria’s fate is now back in their own hands.
Wests started the game as favourites, holding a Top Four position, with participation in the end of season promotion play-off near guaranteed.
The two bonus points earned at Bower Park will do this ambition less harm than the storm that awaited them.
The carnage started immediately. Wests gathered the ball from the opening kick-off and just 28 seconds later, home prop Arran Sullivan pounced on some ponderous decision making to wrest the ball free and gallop over the line.
Jack Clegg’s conversion was good, and before most supporters had settled into their seats, Aspatria were 7-0 to the good.
The West defence looked like statues as Aspatria’s next attack roared up the left flank before taking a diagonal across the field for winger Alex Barton to go in at the right corner flag for 12:0.
There was resistance from Wests, but when in possession, their attacks looked disorganised, and Aspatria had no difficulty in diffusing all efforts to secure a foothold in the game.
The signs from early scrums and line-outs were positive for Aspatria, with the forwards showing excellent control in both areas throughout the contest.
The third home try followed on 13 minutes. Once again the West defence appeared to be absent as centre Shane Cusack dotted down in the right corner, benefitting from some destructive running from forwards Steve Nelson and Matthew Atkinson.
Nothing was going right for Wests as they tried to reduce Aspatria’s 17-0 lead. Kicks were going astray, scrums and line-outs were being lost, and penalties were being conceded.
It was too early to say Aspatria were home and dry, but the evidence was mounting. Although after 23 minutes, perhaps any jury would have convicted West’s defence of negligence as Aspatria ran in a fourth bonus point try.
Again, Nelson was the catalyst breaking up the right. He had several team-mates in support, but the score went to scrum half Mark Watson.
So 22-0, what next? Well, it seemed as if Wests decided they had suffered enough. The game turned on its head. In complete contrast, it was now Aspatria who were conceding a rash of penalties and suffering from questionable decision-making.
The fight back had begun after 28 minutes when Wests finally struck a blow. It was not easy at first, but they showed grim determination not to return from the home 22 without reward.
This came from a smartly taken tap and go penalty, five or so meters out, that took Aspatria by surprise.
At 22-7 it remained a long haul for Wests, but they probably sensed that Aspatria were in a vulnerable phase of the game.
The action had now moved deep into the home half, where a penalty was used to reduce the gap to 22-10, followed by another to cut the lead to nine points.
Then Aspatria’s Sullivan was shown a yellow card, probably more to do with the number of penalties being conceded than his own action.
With the last move of the half, Wests attacked down the left flank. A dangerous move was being mounted, and Aspatria’s Barton could only bring this to a halt with an illegal tackle.
The resultant penalty was used to gain a line-out close to the line. The ball was won and spread through the back division for a try in the opposite corner.
That final score left Aspatria with a slender 22-18 lead at the break, but the problem of starting the second half with only 13 men on the pitch.
Into the second 40 minutes, and initially Aspatria performed well to hold back a West’s side now chasing a win. Being back to 14 men only lasted a minute or so as the next Aspatria player to walk was Chris Graham, who impeded the taking of a quick tap penalty.
The ensuing penalty kick was missed, but on 51 minutes, Wests took a 23-22 lead with a well-executed move by the back division.
It was looking ominous for Aspatria. Wests had regained a composure that was absent in the early part of the game.
Aspatria’s points cushion had disappeared, but they too were about to demonstrate resilience and launch another challenge.
The fight-back started in a small way with Clegg smashing over a penalty to regain the lead.
A few minutes later, an error in clearing the 22 led to Wests conceding another penalty.
This time the ball went into the corner where the Aspatria pack took over. Possession was secured, and they began to inch toward the try line, forming a rolling maul around five metres out. Wests had no answer to this tactic, and Nelson eventually found himself over the line.
Around the 70-minute mark, Wests had revenge when they obtained a position deep in the Aspatria 22. It was a desperate home defence with the Wests pack efficiently inching forward.
This created a narrow gap just wide enough for the visitors’ scrum-half to slide through for a try that brought the scores even at 30 all.
Either side might still go on to win this game, but a draw was now looking the most likely outcome. That was until Wests handed Aspatria a gift, which they were happy to accept.
Around 35 metres out, Wests conceded a scrum to Aspatria, but they were clearly not happy with the referee’s interpretation of events leading to this and decided to enlighten him.
The referee, Simon Barker, did not appreciate this and penalised Wests. This allowed Aspatria once more to set up a catch and drive around 10 metres out from the line.
Everyone, including Wests, knew what was coming as the ball was secured, tucked away by Nelson, and the crawl to the line commenced. But knowing and stopping are two different things, and once again Nelson came up smiling.
A tense restart followed with Aspatria defending a 35-30 lead. Initially, Wests seemed to be having the best of this late, late drama, but crucially lost possession close to the line.
This enabled Aspatria’s forwards to control several phases before getting the signal from the referee that time was up, and the ball could be dispatched into touch to end a pulsating game.
