Workington Town battled hard to secure a much-needed victory over Hunslet at Derwent Park this afternoon.

It was a closely contested encounter with not many points on the scoreboard but Workington did enough to take the two points with a 12-4 win.

At times it wasn't the prettiest of wins but it was a win - and put the icing on the cake for Chris Thorman's first outing at Derwent Park.

There was some tough tackling and hard running in the opening moments of this clash as Town looked to secure a second win of the season over their Hunslet rivals while they aim to make amends for the 1895 Cup defeat.

A little kick through from Joe Sanderson caused some panic in the Town defence but they just managed to scramble at the expense of a drop-out as the Hunslet attacking line closed in.

Then at the opposite end a chip kick from Sean Penkywicz was gratefully scooped up by the Hunslet defence as Town tried to break the deadlock.

Tyler Lancaster was breathing a sigh of relief as his kick near his own line went straight into the arms of their visitors but some last ditch tackling put them into touch and Town came away with the ball again.

The game lacked in intensity and there were errors from both sides with neither side really looking like scoring until around the half hour mark.

It was Hunslet who were pinning Town down on their own line when Nathan Chappell was held up over the line before Duane Straugheir was then halted just short of the line on the last.

Town had their own chance shortly after but just as they were pushing to the try line, Ryan Fieldhouse lost the ball and Hunslet again came away.

But, not for long, a nice little run from Carl Forber got them close to the line and he popped the ball out and it got into the hands of the onrushing Tom Curwen who crashed over the line, with Forber converting for 6-0.

Hunslet had a golden opportunity to draw level when they flung the ball quickly out wide and it looked as though Gareth Potts would get in at the corner.

But they had reckoned without the tackling of Gordon Maudling and Tyler Lancaster who bundled the winger out into touch at the last second.

The second half began with Town looking to increase their lead but a chip and chase from Doran was intercepted by Hunslet full-back James Watson and allowed the visitors to go on the attack, Chappell again going close.

Forber was then called on to put Dale Bloomfield into touch as he raced for the corner flag.

Town got a penalty and moved up to around 20-metres off the line but still they could not get through the Hunslet defence despite a strong run from Caine Barnes.

Unusually for Forber he missed two attempts at penalty goals as Town looked to try and build up a larger advantage.

Workington were holding firm but then into the last 10 minutes Hunslet finally came back at their hosts. They picked up an interception from a loose pass and it took a good tackle from newcomer Russell Bolton to stop Joe Sanderson.

But Hunslet were on a roll and Chappell went close, with Forber and Barnes combining to halt him inches short but then across the field, they could not stop winger Gareth Potts from going in at the corner flag.

Luckily for Town, Sanderson failed with his conversion attempt from the touchline and they still held a very slender two point lead going into the dying minutes.

A Doran kick into touch caught a hand of a Hunslet player and Town got the ball back in a good position. Doran got the ball out to an onrushing Maudling close to the line and he touched down to seal the win.

Forber tagged on the extras and the hooter sounded shortly after to seal a crucial league victory.