Aspatria took on promotion-chasing Kirkby Lonsdale from a league above and chalked up a remarkable 38-0 victory to ease themselves into the Cumbria Cup semi-final.

Both sides went into the game with injury issues. Aspatria were missing key forwards, Gary Harrison, Tom Lindsay, Greg Dickinson and the influential Gary Hodgson while Kirkby Lonsdale tried-out several members of their second team.

Although the Bower Park playing surface was in great condition for the match the swirling wind and heavy rain was never going to make ball control easy. Within minutes of the opening Aspatria were given a boost when they pushed Kirkby Lonsdale backwards in the first scrum, setting a pattern that would last the entire game.

Despite playing against the wind Aspatria attacked from the outset but as the 15 minute mark passed neither team had any significant advantage. Kirkby Lonsdale came close to taking the lead on 16 minutes when scrum half Ben Walker was stopped inches short but had no support and was robbed of the ball by Aspatria who cleared down field.

The home side baffled their supporters on 20 minutes when they refused a penalty kick in front of the posts and gambled by opting for a scrum. It did not pay off and the stalemate continued.

The game changer for Aspatria came on 31 minutes. Kirkby Lonsdale lost the ball on their own 22 and from the resulting scrum, Aspatria moved the ball left to centre Tom Gardner who broke through the defence to get a metre from the try line.

The ball was recycled to the centre of the pitch where the referee deemed Kirkby Lonsdale offside and awarded Aspatria a penalty in front of the posts. Live wire fly half Jack Clegg was the first to react, tapping the ball and racing in for the try, which he converted.

Within two minutes of the restart Aspatria had regained the ball and another penalty had them five metres from the Kirkby Lonsdale try line.

Once there the Black Reds pack executed a near perfect line-out. They held the ball up in what was clearly a practiced training ground move and only released it when from a distance Gardner ran into position to crash over the line with defenders skittled in all directions. Clegg converted.

Before the half time whistle Kirkby Lonsdale had a golden opportunity to get themselves back in the contest but handling let them down as the ball was dropped at the crucial moment.

By the time the half came to a halt, the visitors had lost two forwards to injury, including No8 Lwazi Ngcumgama who to the point of his departure had been their most influential player. This was a blow that Kirkby never really recovered from.

To make things worse the wind at Aspatria’s back increased in strength and the incessant rain started lashing into the faces of the visiting players.

No one amongst the visitors wanted the ball from the kick-off and immediately Aspatria had a line-out on the five metre line. They seized the ball and drove to the line where Kirkby Lonsdale abandoned the blind side and a simple pass to the left gave winger Lee Tinnion the easiest score of his season.

Despite the set-back, the visitors continued to work hard and should have been rewarded on 51 minutes when an overlap looked to have created a certain score but the ball was dropped. From this point the end result was no longer in doubt.

Clegg’s intelligent kicking kept Kirkby Lonsdale exactly where Aspatria wanted them and further scores followed as the winter gloom intensified.

On 65 minutes the home side’s mauling tactics brought reward in the form of a penalty try as Kirkby Lonsdale illegally brought down the Aspatria pack just as they were about to cross the line. Clegg converted.

On 71 minutes the visitors went down to 14 men when lively back row Ross Towers was sin binned. This was taken as a sign for the Aspatria parade to begin as they rattled in a further three tries before the final whistle sounded.

Matthew Atkinson organised another driving maul to the line where veteran prop Graham Andrews was on hand to gallop over for a rare score.

The next was a complete contrast as it resulted from a superb back line move towards the left where Tinnion was waiting to record his second of the day.

His hat-trick quickly followed after scrum half Tony Nicholson to thank for making the initial break from around the half way line. Replacement Marc Haycock took over before getting his pass away to Tinnion, who crossed unopposed.