REPORT: TOWN VS NEWCASTLE

Our Town men played in their second of back to back home games against Newcastle.

Workington Town were unable to recover from a difficult opening spell as Newcastle Thunder claimed a 40-16 victory at the Fibrus Community Stadium.

In a match of high importance with Callum Phillips playing his 150th game for the club, Town fell 24 points behind inside the opening 20 minutes yet showed plenty of character to fight their way back into the contest and reduced the deficit to just eight points during the second half.

However, a strong Newcastle side, featuring several Super League loanees, capitalised on key moments to pull away and secure the victory.

Town would like to thank everyone who came along to support the team. The backing from the stands remained strong throughout the afternoon, with supporters continuing to get behind the players as they battled to find a route back into the game.

Newcastle made a fast start and opened the scoring during their first set of the afternoon. Following an early Town error, Will Roberts crossed for the opening try, with Myles Harrison adding the conversion.

Town were then forced to defend for long periods as the visitors continued to apply pressure. Newcastle extended their advantage when Noah Whittingham hit a well-timed line and broke through to score close to the posts.

The visitors struck again shortly afterwards as Roberts crossed for his second try of the game. Harrison converted to give Thunder an 18-0 lead inside the opening 20 minutes.

Town’s difficult start continued when Newcastle added a fourth try from the restart. Jordan Lipp forced his way over despite the efforts of Zarrin Galea, Oscar Doran and Tanna Featherstone, with Harrison maintaining his perfect record from the kicking tee.

Trailing 24-0, Town needed a response and began to find greater control as the first half progressed.

Newcastle’s first unforced error provided Town with an opportunity, and the home side took advantage. After forcing a goal-line drop-out, Town moved the ball wide and Oscar Doran crossed for the team’s opening try.

Town continued to build momentum and began to put the visitors under sustained pressure. Lucas Castle found Callum Phillips with a well-timed pass, with Phillips breaking through before forcing another drop-out.

The pressure was rewarded five minutes before the interval when Jake Carter produced some clever footwork close to the line to score. Carter added the conversion to reduce the deficit to 24-10 at half-time.

Town believed they had added another try before the break, but a double knock-on was ruled in Newcastle’s favour, allowing the visitors to hold on to their 14-point advantage heading into the interval.

The second half began with Town continuing to search for a way back into the game, and the home side were rewarded 15 minutes after the restart.

Mason Lewthwaite reacted quickest to a loose ball and showed great awareness to pounce and score. Carter converted, bringing Town to within eight points and giving the home side genuine hope of completing a comeback.

With the momentum beginning to swing, Town looked capable of putting Newcastle under further pressure. However, the visitors responded five minutes later after intercepting an attempted pass, with Ukuma Ta’ai crossing to extend Thunder’s lead.

Newcastle then added further tries through Mitch Clark and Bailey Antrobus to secure the result, although Town continued to compete and created further opportunities.

Rio Corkill was held up over the line late in the game as Town pushed for another score, but the visitors held firm to complete a 40-16 victory.

While the result was disappointing, Town’s response after the opening 20 minutes showed the determination and resilience within the squad. The side will now review the performance and look to respond strongly in the next fixture.

Once again, Workington Town would like to thank all supporters who attended the match and continued to back the team throughout the afternoon.

We now look to this week as we travel to Midlands on Sunday.