Storm Jorge resulted in only two games going ahead in North Two West, but both had significance for Aspatria in the battle to avoid relegation.

At Bower Park the Black Reds battled to a 29-14 victory over bottom club Sefton, while Bolton – who desperately needed a win to jump out of the bottom three – lost 45-21 to table-topping Glossop.

The five points earned by the Black Reds sees them climb into mid-table with 41 points, eight clear of Bolton, who remain in the final relegation spot.

To guarantee safety, however, Aspatria know they will need to improve on their level of performance against Sefton, which was far from plain sailing.

A devilishly strong wind, which must have been close to gale-force at times, blew down the pitch and became a significant factor in the game.

It was Sefton who initially used the testing conditions to good effect, seeing them able to pin Aspatria in the 22.

The turning point came on ten minutes when Gary Hodgson broke from deep in his half to move play into Sefton territory.

From that point, Aspatria set about testing Sefton’s resolve and when they ran out of defenders on the left Patrick Noutch found himself in space to dash over the line.

Benefitting from Aspatria errors, as well as the conditions, Sefton soon had the home side back on the ropes.

Pick-and-go tactics paid dividends for the bottom club, with a try at the corner flag, followed up by an excellent touchline conversion to give Sefton an unexpected lead.

Aspatria found it increasingly difficult to clear their lines, the result of which enabled Sefton to turn the screw, and they managed to increase their lead from a good backs move, which led to another try that was, once again, followed up with a successful conversion.

Sefton battled hard but were unable to improve the points differential, a failure that they subsequently paid a heavy price for as the half-time whistle approached.

The catalyst for the comeback score was Aspatria hooker Adam Cavanagh, as he gained 20 metres with a storming charge before unloading to Josh Watson.

The stand-off jinked inside his man and this time the final pass was perfect to meet the onrushing Greg Dickinson who then raced under the posts. Jack Clegg was left with an easy conversion, which he successfully made.

Sefton took a 14-12 lead into the break, but with them having to play against the wind in the second half, it never looked as though it would be enough.

Just nine minutes after play resumed, the home side regained the lead, thanks to an individual piece of brilliance from Hodgson.

The big number eight came into possession around 30 metres from the try line, and nothing much looked on, but his determined running soon had defenders falling away right and left, as his legs pumped all the way under the posts for a superb try.

Sefton played the conditions intelligently, but found that kicking themselves out of trouble was a virtual impossibility and the Black Reds inflicted the killer blow on 67 minutes.

Aspatria remained patient when in the opposition’s danger zone, and sustained a long period of attacking rugby.

The ball eventually found Alex Barton on the right wing, and he dashed over for the try that also delivered a precious bonus point.

It was all Aspatria now, and it was no surprise when they added a fifth score in the closing minutes through centre Ryan Scott, who broke free of some tired tackling to zip under the posts.