Workington Town 10 Swinton Lions 10: Workington Town will look at this clash with Swinton Lions as two points lost as opposed to a point won.

In a messy game, with errors from both sides, Town should have had the match sewn up but they let their visitors back into the game with only a few minutes left on the clock.

Missed kicks and lost opportunities were the story of the day as Town never really got into gear against a Swinton side that showed weaknesses.

The start of the game was error-strewn with both sides conceding possession and field position.

Town seemed to kick into gear when Jamie Doran broke upfield after Swinton’s Mike Butt lost the ball.

But on the last tackle Carl Forber’s kick just had too much weight behind it and it rolled over the dead ball line.

Liam McAvoy and Matt Gee put in a good tackling stint to try and keep the Lions pinned in their own half.

And Jarrod Sammut, playing in the unaccustomed full-back role, proved a safe pair of hands on a couple of occasions under the high ball.

Fittingly, it was Doran again who broke the deadlock in the 11th minute as he broke through and drew the defence before throwing a dummy.

The Swinton defence fell for it and he crossed the whitewash unopposed near the posts to leave Sammut an easy conversion.

But the lead did not last long as Declan Hulme could not hold on to the ball and Liam Marshall scooped it up and went the length of the field to score, with Atkin converting.

Swinton tried to edge further ahead but John Patrick was there to drop on the ball behind his own line and save the home side on this occasion.

And from the resulting drop-out, Liam Marshall knocked the ball on and Town got the ball back in the centre of the field.

But it was Swinton who looked dangerous as they broke through and Liam McAvoy then faced 10 minutes in the sin bin for a trip near his own line.

Luke Waterworth and Ben White were both held up close to the line and Macauley Hallett was stopped with the ball in hand on the last.

Beharrell then put in a neat 40/20 kick but he was sent to the sin-bin minutes later as Swinton were put on a team warning.

And the half time hooter sounded with the two sides still deadlocked at 6-6.

Into the second half and again it started scrappy.

Ryan Verlinden lost the ball near the Swinton try line as Town tried to get back on top and then Swinton’s Atkin missed a penalty goal attempt.

Jason Mossop saved the day as he put in a massive impact on the Swinton attack causing them to lose the ball just short of the Town line.

Then Liam McAvoy and Carl Forber combined to move the home side downfield. Sammut’s final high bomb was spilled and Swinton were pinned behind their line.

Another penalty, this time in Town’s favour, gave Sammut a chance to atone for his miss in the first half and he did so to edge Workington ahead at 8-6.

And Town kept pressing as a high kick from Forber bounced awkwardly and Swinton were forced to drop out yet again.

Brett Phillips burst on to the ball and was held just short before Perry Whiteley lost possession with the line just yards away.

Then, with 12 minutes remaining, Sammut slotted over another penalty from 40-metres out to give the home side a slight cushion.

And he was instrumental in Town’s next move as he took the ball to the line and missed out a man to send Declan Hulme clear.

Hulme was pulled down just short but then the referee stopped the game for an altercation in back play involving Sammut as he was pulled back.

The ref eventually waved play on and Town’s attack came to nothing on the last.

Then came a killer blow for Town, as in the 76th minute Swinton attacked down the left hand side and Marshall got on to the end of an Atkin kick to touch down by the corner flag

There were appeals by the Town players that he had not grounded it but the referee gave the try.

However, crucially, the touchline conversion was missed by Atkin and the two sides were level once more at 10-10.

Town had one last throw of the dice but a John Patrick grubber kick into the corner was scooped up by Swinton.

There was some heart-stopping moments as the hooter sounded with Jarrod Sammut putting boot to ball in one last attempt.

But it only resulted in Swinton retaining posession.

But, thankfully, the Town defence was on its guard and the match finished all-square.

Workington Town: Sammut, Mossop, Hulme, Whiteley, Patrick, Doran, Forber, Gordon, C Phillips, Shackley, B Phillips, Gee, McAvoy. Subs (all used): Mattinson, Olstrom, Verlinden, Szostak

Try: Doran; Goals: Sammut 3/4

Swinton: Butt, Robinson, Littler, Hallett, Marshall, White, Atkin, Hand, Waterworth, Austin, Thornley, Lloyd, Lever. Subs (all used): Bracek, Barlow, Johnson, Beharrell

Tries: Marshall (2); Goals: Atkin 1/3

Referee: Tom Grant

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