Barrow Raiders see off Workington Town in Cumbrian derby

The phrase "blood and thunder" is often applied to derby matches across a variety of sports, although it is undoubtedly the most apposite way to describe yesterday's showdown between Barrow Raiders and Workington Town at Craven Park.

Played out in the swirling wind and rain, this was about as no-holes-barred as a contest such as this can get, with both sides having two men sin-binned and Town's Macauley Davies being sent off for a high tackle so bad as to ensure the video highlights of the game will come with an "18" certificate.

Given how much was at stake for both teams in terms of their respective seasons though, it should come as no surprise it was such a fiery encounter at times.

For Barrow, it was a chance to all but confirm second place in Kingstone Press League One. For Workington, a win was a must to keep alive their dwindling hopes of securing a place in the play-offs.

Oh, and there was also the small matter of the Cumbrian bragging rights being up for grabs, as well.

The latter is always of utmost importance to the respective clubs' supporters and those Workington fans who made the trip down the coast to cheer on their team were in good voice from minute one to 80.

But come the final hooter, it was the home fans who were celebrating a 36-14 win after the Raiders had seized the initiative during the first 40 minutes.

Shane Toal led the way for Barrow with two tries - taking his tally for the season to 19 - but as ever the foundations for the win were laid by the efforts of the pack.

Raiders skipper Ollie Wilkes led from the front and utilised all of his near-on two decades of professional experience perfectly, while hooker Nathan Mossop was always a danger out of dummy-half - both grabbing tries as well.

Workington did manage three tries of their own, but were otherwise left to rue ill-discipline and a number of handling errors - especially in the second half - in defeat.

Had it not been for the final pass being forward, however, Town would have found themselves in front after just two minutes when Gabriel Fell went over in the corner.

It was the hosts who were in for the first try four minutes later though, Mossop breaking the line to take them to within striking distance and then Lewis Charnock putting in a high kick on the last tackle which was pulled down by Toal for an unconverted try out wide.

Then, after Martin Aspinwall and Perry Singleton were sin-binned following a melee, Mossop scampered over under the posts for a converted score on 10 minutes after Joe Bullock had been halted just short.

Fieldhouse put the Raiders firmly in control six minutes later, being adjudged to have got the ball down following a kick through from Dallimore, and Charnock followed the conversion up with a penalty.

A kick through from former Barrow Island amateur Singleton led to Workington getting on the scoreboard in the 32nd minute thanks to Fell dotting down in the corner for an unconverted try.

However, half-back pairing Dallimore and Charnock combined in the 39th minute to send Barrow in with a 24-4 lead at the break, the former kicking for the latter to score just behind the posts.

The second half descended into an increasingly scrappy affair, with handling errors from both teams and the Raiders missing out on adding to their tally through forward passes.

Tempers started to flare as well, with Brett Phillips being sin-binned for a late hit on Charnock followed by Davies being dismissed when he wiped out Abram with a high shot - the Raiders interchange hooker being shown a yellow card for retaliating too.

Wilkes' try following the resulting penalty was followed by another brief scuffle between both sets of players, but after this Workington did manage two more tries.

The first saw Phillips, back from his 10-minute spell on the sidelines, finish and Carl Forber convert after Town worked a numerical advantage on Barrow's right wing and the second came when Tee Ritson punished Fieldhouse for failing to deal with a kick.

But it was Toal who had the final word with his second of the match, blazing down the wing from 60 metres out to score a try which Dallimore converted.

That made it five wins from five in the Super Eights for the Raiders and effectively secured second place, while at the same time dealing Workington's play-off ambitions a near-fatal blow.

Barrow Raiders: Ryan Fieldhouse; Shane Toal, Declan Hulme, Eze Harper, Brett Carter; Jamie Dallimore, Lewis Charnock; Joe Bullock, Nathan Mossop, Ollie Wilkes, Jarrad Stack, Bradd Crellin, Martin Aspinwall. Interchange: Dan Abram, Dan Toal, Tom Walker, James Duerden.

Workington Town: Theerapol Ritson; Joe Hambley, Perry Singleton, Jason Mossop, Gabriel Fell; Carl Forber, Jamie Doran; Tom Curwen, Stuart Haworth, Kris Coward, Brett Phillips, Macauley Davies, Gordon Maudling. Interchange: Kyle Shelford, Callum Phillips, Danyal Rasool.

Referee: Steve Race.