Workington Town strengthened their local bragging rights over neighbours Whitehaven with a fourth successive win.
The 22-14 victory at the Ortus Rec on Good Friday followed a League One double last season and victory in the annual Ike Southward Memorial game in January.
Overall, looking at the game in segments, Whitehaven were the best side for the opening third but Town dominated for the final two thirds and were deserving winners.
The two sides had gone into the game with three Championship points each from their seven matches and with respective coaches James Newton and Jonty Gorley insisting they needed good starts.
It was Whitehaven who responded best, applying early pressure which forced early errors from Town while the visitors also lost the services of Stevie Scholey with what was later revealed as a popped rib cartilage.
It was then, the hosts who got off to the best possible start when Jack Ainley lost the ball on heavy pressure from Haven early on.
Whitehaven were rewarded for their bright start with the first try on six minutes when Ciaran Walker slid a lovely kick in behind the Town defence for Jay Weatherill to touch down. Walker’s subsequent conversion kick made it 6-0.
Conditions quickly deteriorated and long before the end it was very difficult to distinguish one set of players from the others in the ensuing mudbath.
This was all the scoring done until the 27th minute, as both sides struggled to complete and make any yardage in the conditions. and when there were any break it would be down to penalties or set restarts.
When Haven did make headway deep into Town territory they were awarded a penalty for an alleged ball steal and Walker duly increased the home side’s lead.
It looked set to be Haven’s half-time lead but in the final 10 minutes of the half the tide began to turn, and largely due to the arrival of Jamie Doran as the Town substitute started to influence the game.
Following five minutes of sustained Town pressure Grant Reid followed a kick by Doran and managed to stretch out his long frame to beat Jake Pearce and touch down in front of the Kells End.
The try was given despite Haven protests that the ball had gone dead and Jake Carter added the conversion to cut the deficit to two points.
There was still time for Town to draw level before the break as Carter made Haven pay from a penalty in front of the posts, given for a high tackle.
It was a sign of things to come because Haven’s discipline fell away completely in the second half and with a 5-1 penalty county Town were able to find plenty of go-forward and establish good field positions.
Evan Lawther, Jack Ainley, Reid and Doran were prominent for Town but 10 minutes into the second half it was Carter who scored a super try after Dom Weir put a perfect ball through that caused confusion in the Haven ranks. Carter converted and Town led by six points.
Town scored their third try five minutes later when once again Haven’s ill-discipline showed.
The returning Jack Stephenson benefited from a bullet pass to twist his way over the line to score an unconverted try.
Haven did make the odd foray into the Town half but poor end of sets and good defence from the visitors meant that the hosts weren’t able to put points on the board.
In fact it was Town who scored again on 64 minutes when Lawther bulldozed his way over the line carrying four defenders with him to seal the deal for the visitors. Town had scored 22 unanswered points across 25 minutes.
Haven would get the last word on 77 minutes but it was too little too late when Carter tried to bounce off Walker a metre shy of the line.
The Town halfback lost the ball in contact and Walker touched down to score and added the extra two points.
It might have been a nervy ending to the game but Town saw it through to collect the points and register their second Championship win of the season.
The two sides are back in action next weekend when Town host Midlands Hurricanes and Haven travel to Humberside to face Goole Vikings at the Victoria Pleasant Ground.
Hear Jonty Gorley’s verdict below:
