Moor fail to make the most of good opportunities in Keswick defeat.

Moor travelled to Cumbria for the first time this year to play Keswick, hoping for a win that would maintain their interest at the top of the division. In the event, this was not to be as, despite a total dominance in the first half, by the end of the contest they were well beaten.

Predictions that this would be an open, expansive game were accurate as both sides were very similar in make-up, with mobile forwards and quick backs. The home side kicked off and immediately Moor went on the offensive and within a couple of minutes had taken play into the opposition’s half, where they stayed for most of the first period. Their forwards consistently recycled the ball, winning phase after phase and for a change, had the advantage in the tight, controlling the scrums and line-outs. This provided a constant stream of quality possession for the three-quarter line and despite good defensive work by Keswick, it seemed that it would only be a matter of time before Moor would score. Within ten minutes, they had had two penalty attempts at goal, one of which was successfully kicked by scrum-half Shaun Stirrup and five minutes later when centre Petr Stourac was stopped just short of the line, fellow centre Nik Pearson was on hand to collect the ball and cross for a try, the conversion being missed. The lead was cut shortly afterwards when Keswick’s fly-half and captain, John Hine, intercepted a rather laboured pass along the Moor back line and he raced in from half way to score, converting his own try. Despite this set-back of their own making and with less than a quarter of the match gone, it appeared to the small band of Moor supporters that the lead would soon be stretched. How wrong they were. Whether a surfeit of ball for the visitor’s three-quarter line had overwhelmed their thinking, play became rather predictable and unimaginative and coupled with a solid defensive performance from the home side, the score remained 8-7 at the interval.

Moor continued to press after the break, but again without success. Intelligent kicking by Hine kept Keswick in the hunt and gradually the home side began to get into the game and actually took the lead with a long-range penalty kick. Moor still maintained their edge to the game however and should have scored on a number of occasions, but chose to take the wrong options. The turning point came with around ten minutes to go as Moor, who were attacking deep in the opposition’s half, lost possession in a tackle. The loose ball was picked up by a Keswick back and when stopped on his 10-metre line, passed to prop Graham Marsh, previously known only for his prowess between the uprights in the round-ball game, who then showed a clean pair of heels to the opposition as they desperately tried to get back and he sprinted in from 55 metres to score a try, converted by Hine, much to the great delight of the home supporters and the utter disbelief of their Moor counterparts. This then meant that the visitors would have to score at least twice to save the game, something that looked unlikely given their performance so far. With the game almost over, the home side forced Moor into conceding a scrum not far from the latter’s line and after a series of rucks, Keswick back-row forward, David Wray, forced his way over for a third and final try, again converted by Hine, earning them a well-deserved 24-8 victory.