Furness 26 Cockermouth 23

FURNESS claimed a first on-field Cumbria League Cup win of the season as they crept past Cockermouth at the Strawberry Grounds.

In a nip-and-tuck affair, the Blues sealed the victory – on the back of a walkover against Windermere and a narrow defeat to Upper Eden already in the group stages – when Ben Hughes went in for the winning try.

With Furness trailing, as they had done almost all afternoon – the visitors scoring first and the hosts replying to set the patten of a to-and-fro encounter – it was only at the death that they took a decisive lead.

Hughes took the ball near the posts and ran in to touchdown and seal the game.

The visitors had dominated in the scrum for much of the afternoon, as the makeshift home pack battled to counter them.

Cockermouth also looked well-drilled, belying their status among the bottom four sides in the Cumbria League with a strong performance.

Will Mallinson scored the first try for Furness after Cockermouth had opened the scoring, with the second coming from Ryan Cunningham, to mark his penultimate home game for the Blues.

The Welsh winger, whose time at Furness is coming to an end after he took a new job in the West Country, ran onto a chip kick over the top from man-of-the-match stand-off Adam Jackson to touch down in the corner.

Into the second half, and with Cockermouth still holding the slender advantage, Rhys Studt – playing in an unfamiliar role at centre having moved from the back row – gathered the ball 25 yards from the Cockermouth line and exchanged passes with Joe Mallinson before going over at the clubhouse end near the posts.

Cockermouth still led into the final stages, but Hughes touched down for the decisive score.

Scrum half Sam Dutton added three conversions for the home side, who face Carlisle Crusaders in their final Cumbria League Cup group game at the start of January.