Workington Town were crushed 56-12 by Barrow Raiders in the Cumbrian derby at the Fibrus Community Stadium.
The Town points were scored in the last eight minutes when Barrow were home and hosed, well clear of their county rivals.
It was an impressive performance by the Raiders, clearly showing why they are a top team and currently lie joint second in the Championship table.
Apart from the closing stages, when the result was already assured, Town’s best spell was in the first 10 minutes when they had gone 4-0 behind.
They had enjoyed a spell of sustained pressure on the Barrow line with skipper Stevie Scholey going closest to levelling the scores.
But Barrow defended resolutely and by half-time had pulled away to lead 26-0.
That opening Barrow try came after six minutes when former Town forward Tom Walker and Joe Bullock did the hard work before the ball was spun wide for Tee Ritson, another former Town player to score in the corner.
The strong wind made it virtually impossible to convert.
But that sparked a strong response from Town, fording a couple of drop-outs, one of which went straight into touch.
But Barrow held firm and in the second quarter of the game added 22 more unanswered points.
Ryan King drove and jinked his way over for a try which Brad Walker was able to convert.
Town minutes later they scored again. A thrilling 60 metre run from Ritson ended with quick hands and another finish from King which Walker improved.
The fourth Barrow try arrived on 28 minutes when Town’s defence was tested and found wantying with Luke Cresswell finishing off from King’s final pass. Walker converted.
The final try of the half came three minutes before the break when another outstanding passing move took them well into Town territory where Ritson finished off with aplomb but the kick was missed.
Barrow had the wind behind them in the second-half and scored again after only four minutes.
A deep kick by Ryan Johnston was pursued by Ritson and he forced a scramble which ended with Shane Toal picking-up to score, with Walker adding the extras.
On 52 minutes Barrow went over again. A kick over the top from Walker
asked too many questions of the home defence and this time it was Toal who set up the hat-trick try for Ritson.
It was beginning to be embarrassing as Barrow seemed capable of scoring on every set and when Johnston went over on 56 minutes and Walker converted Barrow had surpassed the 40 points they scored against Town in the opening game of the season.
The half century came up on the hour when Charlie Emslie took advantage of a yawning gap to drive through and score with Walker converting.
Their final try, one of the best, came on 65 minutes with Andrew Bulman finishing off confidently another fine handling move. Walker converted.
That was the end of Barrow’s scoring and at least Town did give their fans something to cheer in the closing stages.
They scored tries from Jack Stephenson and new boy Logan Blacker in the 72nd and 74th minutes, both converted by Dom Wear.
