Last updated 19:39, Thursday, 20 March 2008

KESWICK just need five points from their last four games to be mathematically certain of landing the Cumbria League title.

Mike Tait scored a try during Keswick’s win

But the Davidson Park team want to do it in style and go through the season with a 100 per cent record. They have won all 20 matches so far.

Win No20 came against Wigton Wanderers when they won handsomely 57-0 which gives them a plus point’s differential of 670 - nearly 250 better than their nearest rivals Netherhall.

Keswick played against the wind in the first half but Wigton didn’t use the elements very well and the home side led 26-0 at the break.

Mark Ireland scored the opening try, adding the conversion and after that it was generally well sustained pressure from Keswick.

Mike Tait and Paul Henderson both got in for tries while replacement Jack Farrell went over a minute after joining the action.

It proved to be a brief scoring appearance as he took knees in the back after going in for the try and was forced to retire. Ireland landed three conversions.

In the second half John Hine quickly got Keswick moving when he chipped over the full-back and ran through to collect and score.

Brian Storey, Johnny Hume, Ben Farrell and Richard Fletcher also got on the score-sheet with Ireland again converting three.

Whitehaven ended a sequence of four straight defeats when they beat Workington Steelers 24-10 at the Ellis Sports Ground.

For Workington it represented a major improvement on the earlier game at Whitehaven when the Steelers crashed 104-0.

Team manager Derek Milligan said: “The young lads are learning all the time and I was very pleased. They are improving week by week.

“One or two were tiring so we brought on three experienced forwards in the second half and that tightened up the scrum.”

Whitehaven led 24-3 at the break but they didn’t open the scoring until the 24th minute when centre Matthew Giddens raced over under the posts for Stephen McConnell to convert.

That was followed by the best try of the game when Whitehaven took a quick tap five metres off their own line.

Wayne Dixon, Gary Wroe and Giddens were involved in a sweeping move before Mitchell Dixon finished off with the try.

Giddens put in Chris Flynn for the third try and then after some clever play by Dixon, Wroe went 50 yards to score the fourth and this one was converted by McConnell.

Johnny Howarth, whose kicking was excellent for the Steels, pegged back three points from a penalty.

Whitehaven could only manage a penalty in the second-half from McConnell.

Workington were rewarded for a spirited effort in the second period when Ben Lanighan charged through three tackles to score under the posts. Howarth converted.

Aspatria are also pleased with the progress of their second team in the Cumbria League competition and they were good 43-7 winners at Bower Park against BAE Barrow.

They dominated the game from the start but didn’t get in front until the 20th minute when Jack Clegg kicked a penalty.

A catch and drive by the forwards set up the opening try soon afterwards for Michael Fagan and Clegg tacked on the extras.

A remarkable try by Scott Lister, converted by Clegg carried Aspatria into a 17-0 lead at half-time. Lister side-stepped his way through seven would-be tacklers to make the try line.

Another catch and drive set up the next try soon after the re-start and Derek Benson was on the end of it. Clegg converted.

Fagan went in for his second, converted by Clegg and then winger Nicholas Edgar crossed in the corner for an unconverted try.

Barrow then enjoyed their best spell of the game and managed to get in for a converted try but the Eagles had the final word when Andrew Deacon got in for a try wide-out and Clegg landed a fine conversion.

Cockermouth had the worst possible start to the game at Moresby when scrum half Mike Shaw had to retire through injury after only two minutes.

However Johnny Taylor, who has been chomping at the bit to get back on the playing

field after a long-term injury was pleased to get an early introduction to the match.

He had an immediate impact when he released the ball quickly from a ruck to set centre Matthew Woodcock away on a pulsating run deep into the Moresby 22.

After beating several would be tacklers, the defending full back Gary Johnston was not to be foiled and he made a superb tackle to bring the attack to an end.

A scrum followed and pressure on the home scrum half gave Ross Maguire the chance to score a well-taken try near the posts. Andrew Skillen knocked over the conversion.

Cockermouth continued to take the game to Moresby, and good long defensive kicks were followed up well by wingers Matthew Paton and Jamie Ward. It put the Moresby back three under pressure and made it difficult for them to get in quality clearance kicks.

But Cockermouth didn’t have things all their own way and a powerful Moresby pack continually disrupted Cockermouth’s set piece play, restricting quality ball to a minimum.

On many occasions, number eight Stuart Moore had to pick up the ball under considerable pressure.

However, he was rewarded on 36 minutes when, after a cleanly taken line-out, he emerged from the back of the ensuing maul to score in the corner for as 12-0 lead.

With seconds of the half remaining Moresby got themselves within touching distance of the Cockermouth line and after some quick thinking and speedily taken penalties they scored in the corner through Dean Finley. A brilliant touch line conversion by Gary Haile got Moresby back to 12-7 with the last kick of the half.

The second half proved to be a real test of the defensive qualities of the visitors with Moresby keeping Cockermouth pinned in their own territory.

After being camped within metres of the Cockermouth try line, Moore broke away to momentarily relieve the pressure, and on a second occasion it was Ashley Irving who broke away, before he was eventually brought down. Moresby were penalised and Andrew Skillen kicked the penalty to give Cockermouth an eight-point advantage.

Then Moresby came back at Cockermouth and once more put them under immense pressure, After a series of penalties, which they attempted to run, they settled on taking three points and once again the gap was five points.

The remaining 20 minutes saw Cockermouth tested to the full, but resolute defending stopped wave after wave of attacks.

To make things even more difficult for themselves, Cockermouth played the last five minutes with a reduced complement, after three yellow cards in quick succession saw them reduced to 12 men. They did hold on for a 15-10 win, but only just.

Netherhall’s game at Millom was postponed.

In a reduced Cumbria League programme tomorrow Cockermouth host Whitehaven, Netherhall visit Creighton, Wigton Wanderers travel to Gosforth Greengarth, and Keswick entertain Millom.

Wigton’s injury-time jinx continued at Kirkby Lonsdale when they conceded a late try to crash out of the Story Cumbria Cup.

After the 13-10 quarter-final defeat coach Malcolm Brown said: “That’s the fifth time this season we have lost a game in stoppage time. We really should be able to close-out games because it was another that got away.”

The two sides are competing with Workington for third spot in the North Lancs Cumbria League so it was expected to be close.

Wigton had the wind in the first half but could only turn round all square at 3-3.

A penalty from Tane Manihera on 15 minutes was answered later in the half by Kirkby Lonsdale.

But in between Wigton could have established a handy lead as they had a fair amount of pressure on the home line.

Robert Marrs went close in the corner, James Brough was held up over the line and a David Warwick interception ended with the Greens being halted two yards short.

When they turned round Wigton coped well with the best Kirkby Lonsdale had to offer and deservedly went in front on 62 minutes.

Good pressure produced some excellent phases which eventually led to Warwick going through to score under the posts and Manihera landed the conversion.

But almost immediately Wigton transgressed and Kirkby Lonsdale were able to trim the lead with a second penalty.

However there were no more serious alarms and Wigton were still doing most of the attacking when play moved into stoppage time.

But from an attacking scrum hooker Mike Armstrong was penalised for foot-up and a 60-metre kick down field produced the winning score.

Wigton winger Stuart Dixon saw his clearance kick charged down and it popped-up invitingly into the arms of a Kirkby Lonsdale player who scored the crucial try in the fourth minute of time added on. The conversion rubbed salt into the wound.

Although Wigton spent an additional 90 seconds camped on the Kirkby Lonsdale line they were unable to make the breakthrough.

The other quarter-final ties are being played tomorrow – Aspatria v Carlisle, St Benedict’s v Penrith and Workington v Kendal.