Keswick 41 Hawcoat Park 7

PATCHED-UP Hawcoat Park were unable to build on victory over Fleetwood as high-flying Keswick ran rampant in the Lake District.

Park, who climbed off the foot of North Lancs/Cumbria by defeating Fleetwood, were in the game early on, as driving runs from Ryan Milner, Ash Mowat and John Donnan had them on the front foot.

But Keswick upped their game, kept the ball and stretched play out wide through their pacey three-quarters, and the Hawcoat defence had to be at their best to keep them at bay.

Skipper Brad Morrow and vice-captain Andy Kent led from the front, and centre Chris Burns did a good job alongside the younger, inexperienced backs.

It was midway through the half that Keswick took the lead, as a planned move saw their scrum half kick for the full-back to gather at pace and cross out wide.

The opener was followed by an almost identical effort, with the scrum half collecting his own kick this time to make it 10-0.

From the restart came the game-changing try.

The mobile Keswick prop took the kick himself and, after beating a couple of weak tackles, showed good pace to go in from 60 metres and establish a 17-0 lead.

As half-time approached, Hawcoat had their best spell.

George Smith controlled the ball, and hooker Adam Grainger ran above his weight in a good spell near the home line.

Glen Kaighan looked to have finished off well in the corner following good hands by James Howden and Chris Burns, but the referee spotted a forward pass during a penalty advantage.

Lewis Sayle and Mike Lightfoot both went close, but the penalties built up against the home side and a penalty try was awarded, making it 17-7 at the break.

Fatigue set in after the break for the Maroon and Whites, making life difficult against a younger, faster, fitter outfit, and there was too much space for Keswick to exploit.

Four further tried followed for the hosts, most from team efforts, as they ran away with it.

Rory Sayle, Paul Woodburn and Connor Vetes Young stepped in and gave their all for Hawcoat, while Ryan Milner took the players’ man-of-the-match award for his strong running.