Workington have the upper hand at half time in their League 1 clash with Coventry Bears.

Town returned to Borough Park to play a game for the first time in more than 30 years and it seems to be paying dividends so far as they lead 26-12 at the break.

Town put the pressure onto the Bears from the off and Sean Penkywicz looked to kick on the last which caused chaos in the Coventry defence and they fumbled, handing Workington another set on their own try line.

And Town made the most of it as they whipped the ball out to the right hand side where Tyllar Mellor raced in and Carl Forber tagged on the extras from wide out.

Just three minutes later and Town were in again as Gordon Maudling made a good charge down the field before Jamie Doran evaded a tackle near the half way line and broke away.

The half-back went over 50-metres to score a fine try but this time Forber could not convert however Town were 10-0 to the good.

The wider advantage did not last long though as Coventry struck back. As they neared the Town line, a mistake earned them a second set and it was hooker Sam Davis who dived over the whitewash with Elliot Hall landing an easy kick.

Both sides looked to gain the upper hand and there were a string of penalties that slowed the game down but it was Town who came back out the better.

On 19 minutes a nice ball from Forber to the onrushing Stevie Scholey saw the second rower cut through on a great angle to the line, leaving Forber an easy kick to make it 16-6.

But their opponents were not about to lie down and after pressure near the try line second rower Jacob Jones burst over from close range to narrow the gap, with Hall converting.

Town were dealt a blow before the break when Tyllar Mellor, in his first game after coming back from injury, had to leave the field after colliding with the barrier when he was racing for a ball.

After a couple of unsuccessful forays towards the Coventry line, Town finally got the breakthrough they needed when Perry Singleton charged over the line, taking several defenders with him.

Another Forber success with the boot and Town were on the up and with two minutes to go before half time, they struck again.

A knock-on from the Bears gave Town field advantage near the line and Doran was quick to spot a gap out on the right. He put boot to ball and Calvin Wellington saw his intent and hared after it to touch down.

Forber's kick this time came back off the uprights but it was the home side who had the advantage at the break, leading 26-12.