Paul Crarey was pleased after his Barrow Raiders side overcame fellow Cumbrians Workington Town on Sunday.

Raiders travelled north to Derwent Park for a pre-season friendly and recorded a 28-18 victory over Chris Thorman’s team.

Although the win delighted the head coach, Crarey was quick to note ‘casualness’ from some of his players.

He said: “It was always going to be scrappy.

“We had 24 players, they had 29. It is an absolute juggling act to get them on the field.

“We were a little bit causal at times off kick-offs and again when they scored that try when Tee didn’t really challenge for the ball and they knocked it back when it was nearly out.

“We’re happy, we went for route one and pushed and played and looked pretty good.

“I am probably disappointed with the casualness of us at times.”

Tries from Nathan Mossop, Ryan Shaw, Mark Tyson and Sam Jones set the Raiders on their way, with Shaw and Jake Carter converting four of those tries.

In particular, Crarey saved special praise for Mossop who finished the game with two tries.

Crarey said: “He was sharp. He has been outstanding in preparation for this game. He has come back from a bit of adversity himself over the last few weeks. He is a strong character.”

Despite taking an early lead the home side were unable to withstand Raiders’ attacks but Crarey was left impressed by Town after the game.

He said: “We scored 28 points away from home against a good, structured team, who are difficult to play against in a small ground, and we have got 28 points to 16.

“They played pretty well, they had a lot of trialists in and they are doing a lot of right things at the moment and will be strong in the league campaign.”

Despite the win, there were some downsides for Raiders.

Crarey revealed that Ryan Duffy and Shaw had suffered injuries during the game.

Duffy injured his foot, whereas Shaw was experiencing problems with his knee.

With the side next facing Hunslet in another pre-season friendly, Crarey has said he will not risk any of his players in the lead-up to the League 1 campaign.

He explained: “We won’t play anyone with niggles leading up to the season because you can lose three or four players per game with the pandemic and little injuries.

“With the gyms being closed, the lads haven’t done any gym work, but plenty of aerobic stuff. But it is a high collision sport and you are going to lose people just because of that.”