Whitehaven 24 Workington Town 16: It wasn’t a derby to set the pulses racing but, in the little mini-league developing within the Championship, Whitehaven were able to put down a key marker.

The hosts were securing their third successive league victory and after being whitewashed last season by their neighbours, this was an important psychological blow to land.

For Town the pain wasn’t just in the defeat, it was more the physical hardships caused by injuries during the game.

They had gone into the contest with Brett Carter on the bench but as a spectator only, and with match-time knocks for Karl Olstrum, Declan Hulme and Jarrad Stack they finished it with only 13 men and no more inter-change options.

With Leigh Centurions visiting the Zebra Claims Stadium on Monday, it’s hardly the right time to be scanning the squad for enough numbers to start with.

Whitehaven, too, did not escape unscathed as top try-scorer Elliot Miller left the ground with his arm in a sling after a knock midway through the second-half.

The game itself had all the usual effort and commitment you would expect from such a confrontation but what it sadly lacked was guile and craft, with both sides unable to create or finish off opportunities after good attacking spells.

Town probably had the nearest there was to a key play-maker in Jarrod Sammut. He scored two tries but his astute tactical kicking did not quite reap the rewards it should have done.

There was also a rare off-day with the boot from Carl Forber who, perhaps for the first time, missed three kicks at goal – two of them hitting the post.

Forber had actually given Town the lead on five minutes with a simple penalty kick but the advantage lasted only four minutes and they were never in front again.

Chris Murphy went for an interception and in diving forward to collect was adjudged to have knocked on. From the scrum Whitehaven moved the ball to the left and Jessie Joe Parker did really well, sucking in the tacklers before a basketball pass was taken by Miller to score out wide. Louis Jouffret landed a fine conversion, the first of four by the Frenchman.

Whitehaven looked the sharper side from that point in the first-half and when they scored again on 16 minutes it did look ominous for Town. Good strong driving from the forwards took them close and Dave Allen finished-off with a strong final surge took him over the line.

At 12-2 Whitehaven had the platform they needed to go on and put the visitors to the sword but Town rallied and, out of the blue, scored a try on 20 minutes.

Sammut put in a grubber on final tackle which caused mayhem in Whitehaven’s defensive cover. Miller was back first and kicked-out, presumably to hack the ball dead, but it squirted to the right and into the air where Sammut appeared again, diving forward to gather and score. Uncharacteristically Forber’s conversion attempt hit the post.

Whitehaven had most of the play after that with plenty of possession and territory but the attacks, in good positions, were slow and laboured and easily snuffed out by Town.

When Workington did get forward they were awarded a penalty right on the hooter but Forber was again off target from a position he would normally have back-heeled over.

The roles were reversed in the second-half with Town doing most of the pressing and they could have been on the scoreboard two minutes after the restart. Haven looked to have been opened up down their right but Jack Murphy’s pass to brother Chris went into touch.

On 52 minutes, though, Town reduced the gap to just two points when Sammut put Brett Phillips through to score from close-range. Once more Forber’s conversion effort came back off the post.

That could have been the signal for Town to take the initiative but instead it was Whitehaven who rallied and on 56 minutes scored again.

Forber knocked-on under pressure and when the ball was moved wide from the scrum Parker broke a tackle, dragged in another tackler before sending Craig Calvert galloping for the corner where he got over despite a despairing effort from Jack Murphy.

Whitehaven now had an eight point advantage and Town’s best efforts to get back into the contest were foiled by their own mistakes.

Right at the death, with Haven back in charge, they rounded off the victory with a try under the posts from Liam Carberry and Sammut’s clever shimmy to create his own second try (which he converted) was merely an injury time statistic.

Whitehaven: Jouffret, Miller, Taylor, Parker, Calvert, Aiye, Gore, Riley, Newton, Davies, Allen, McAvoy, Carberry. Subs (all used) Lucock, Holliday, Fox, Duffy.

Tries: Miller, Allen, Calvert, Carberry. Goals: Jouffret (4)

Workington: J. Murphy, C. Murphy, Hulme, Mossop, Ritson, Forber, Sammut, Coward, Doran, Shackley, B. Phillips, Stack, Olstrum. Subs: (used) Whiteley, McAvoy, Gordon. (not used) Carter.

Tries: Sammut (2), Phillips. Goals: Forber, Sammut.

Referee: Sam Ansell, Huddersfield

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