Saturday 04 November saw the top of the table clash in the North Lancs Cumbria League between table toppers Keswick and second placed Tarleton. A good sized crowd turned up in anticipation of an entertaining game and they were not to be disappointed. From the kick off, Keswick dominated play for the first 10 minutes with solid forward drives and clever tactical kicking from Andy Muir but the Tarleton defence held firm under severe pressure. Against the run of play Tarleton had a short period of possession which led to a breakaway try 15 minutes in. The conversion hit the post so Tarleton led 0-5.

The play then followed a similar pattern to before with Keswick pressing once more. This time the ball was moved out wide only for the Tarleton hooker to intercept and run 70 metres for the touchdown to make the score 0-10. Keswick didn't panic and came back once more to dominate the midfield and for the first time created space out wide where full back Wallace released Ryan Weir who ran in from 40 metres out beating two tackles to score near the posts. Andy Muir added the conversion to take the score to 7-10. This try lifted the crowd and the Keswick team leading to the half time break and Keswick were on the attack again. Just before half time a powerful scrum drive produced fast ball going forward for scrum half Dean Robinson to break blind and release Weir again for a well taken try in the corner. Keswick now had the lead 12-10 as the half time whistle was blown by referee Martin Maughan.

The second half set off much the same as the first with Keswick on the attack and dogged defence from Tarleton. The Keswick forwards led by captain Aaron Thompson were using the driving maul to great effect and the next score came with the Keswick pack driving forward and the ball being released out wide to Michael Bunting who sold a great dummy pass when Weir was running back on the angle to score in the corner. 17 - 10 Keswick. Ten minuted more of play back and forward in both halves of the field eventually saw another strong driving maul from Keswick being pulled down by a Tarleton player to give Muir an easy penalty conversion chance to take the score to 20-10.

For the final 15 minutes the game was all with Tarleton as they threw everything at Keswick to try and come back. With 10 minutes to go they scored a converted try to take the score to 20 -17. The Keswick defence was then tested to the limit to give a real nail biting finish. A great roar from the grandstand crowd saw Keswick drive the Tarleton scrum back at such a rate they gave away a penalty which was the last part of a great game. Keswick retain top place in the league now followed by other Cumbrian sides Wigton and Aspatria.

This was a great advertisement for the game with no quarter given by either side but played in a great spirit. Keswick's forwards, to a man, played very well and laid the platform for a hard fought win. Club Chairman, Trevor Keough, commented " No one at the club is taking anything for granted as every game is competitive in this league but there is a good feeling around at the moment with the 1st team going well and the 2nd team playing well also with good numbers training each week. We are seeing the results of a lot of hard work put in by the coaching team and the players and with the added support we are seeing from the townsfolk, we hope to keep things going in the right direction.

Next game Keswick v Wigton (Top versus third) North Lancs Cumbria League. Davidson Park Saturday 11 November kick off 2 pm (to be confirmed)