Aspatria’s mute reaction to a hard-fought 13-10 win over promotion rivals De La Salle said it all. The four points gained were simply not enough to give them hope of reaching the league play-off final.

It is rare to witness a defeated side celebrating a loss but this is what happened at Bower Park when the final whistle blew.

De La Salle had not denied Aspatria victory but they earned a precious losing bonus point with a magnificent 'backs to the wall’ defensive display that comfortably prevented the hosts from taking anything more than a four-point win.

What all this means is that De La Salle hang on to second place in the league; holding a single point advantage over third-placed Aspatria. With only two fixtures remaining, it seems unlikely that Aspatria can overtake their rivals for the league play-off spot.

Aspatria may have fallen short in their ambitions for this game but they held nothing back in a clash of the highest quality.

The home side attacked with a single-minded purpose but met a De La Salle defence that was outstanding in its commitment to denying the hosts any scrap of hope.

In the early stages of the game, it looked very much as if Aspatria’s attacking flair would wear down the De La Salle defence. Stand-off Jack Clegg unleashed his support runners from all around the pitch. Forwards Phil Dixon and Greg Dickinson were prominent in this early assault, making inroads deep into De La Salle territory.

The game appeared to be swinging in favour of Aspatria. The home side were dominant in the scrum and were showing a discipline in open play that De La Salle could not match, as they conceded a succession of penalties.

Despite this advantage, the first 15 minutes of the game passed without Aspatria seriously threatening a score with the De La Salle cover defence snuffing out every promising attack.

After 24 minutes, Aspatria had little option but to turn one of many penalties into points with a Clegg penalty which seemed scant reward for a blistering opening spell.

With 15 minutes of the half remaining, De La Salle took their first steps into the Aspatria 22 and commenced a period of sustained pressure, turning the tables on Aspatria.

On 33 minutes, De La Salle spurned a kick in favour of going to the corner to mount a catch and drive. Lady luck deserted Aspatria as the ball was over-thrown but still managed to get to the tail of the line, where number eight Paul Berry overcame his surprise to have the ball in hand and tumble over the line for the opening try. Chris Petrou converted.

Aspatria might have gone further behind as the half came to a close when the normally reliable Petrou stubbed the ball from a penalty in front of the posts and it barely left the ground.

Aspatria started the second period with some fine attacking rugby. Dan Rooney at inside centre looked the most likely to break through and played a full part in a 10-minute spell that was near mayhem, as the home side searched for a score.

The Aspatria back division attacked the line with ferocity and, when they could not break through, the forwards took over, led from the front by prop Graham Andrews. The defence held but only through the concession of a series of penalties and still Aspatria couldn’t deliver the killer blow.

Tempers erupted and both teams were warned about their conduct. Aspatria were deemed at fault and De La Salle had the opportunity to clear their line with a penalty but it was a poor kick and the pressure came right back on.

The try came on 65 minutes and was set-up by full-back Andrew Miller, who fielded the ball in his own half and cut a diagonal across the pitch to link up with centres Rooney and Scott Akehurst. Rooney took over the ball and timed his pass outside to Akehurst with perfection.

Akehurst raced down the right touchline and had the gas to round the cover defence, going in under the posts to give Clegg and easy conversion and a 10-7 lead.

The legality of the score was disputed vigorously by De La Salle’s Paul Berry and he was yellow carded for his protest. This all might have been the turning point that Aspatria so desperately searched for but De La Salle simply refused to crumble.

Indeed, they were the next to score after stand-off Ben Wheeler led a break-out. He went close to scoring a try but soon afterwards calmly dropped a goal to level the score.

With the game moving into the final 10 minutes, Aspatria continued to have willing runners in the forwards where Liam Ridley and James Ravell made good ground.

Aspatria were camped within five metres of the try line. They were over twice but deemed to be held-up. Penalty on penalty were awarded in favour of the home team and the referee must have at least been considering a penalty try.

With only a minute remaining, Aspatria decided to cut their losses and abandoned the assault on the line, allowing Clegg to knock over a simple penalty to win the game.