BRIGHT sunshine greeted Windermere when they arrived at Gosforth in the Cumbria League on Saturday and though it was bitterly cold the pitch was in good

condition.

The first quarter was dominated by the Windermere pack with Peter Tann winning good lineout ball and the scrums also providing plenty of possession.

Windermere were first on the scoresheet when Dan Nield took a quick penalty awarded for an offside offence and ran 30 yards before side-stepping the full-back to touch down under the posts.

Greengarth hit back, attacking along the left touchline, only to spill the ball. Matthew Nield gathered and ran the length of the pitch to draw the full-back and send Simon Cole in for a try.

Again, Greengarth responded and their forwards and backs combined well to score

a try in the corner.

Reasserting themselves, the Windermere forwards pinned the home side in their own 22. The pressure paid off and from a scrum 15 yards out, No. 8 Mike Gregg picked up to flop over for his first try.

This score gave Windermere a 15-7 half-time lead and the start of the second half saw them continuing to call the tune.

From the kick-off Windermere won possession and drove up to the home 22. The ball was retained well enabling the backs to find space with Jeremy Wood scoring in the corner.

Next, Greengarth conceded a penalty inside the 22. Shaun Richardson took it quickly; transferred the ball to Paul Rennison who made ground before finding Jeremy Wood.

When he was held up just short of the line, Gregg was up in support to grab his second try of the afternoon.In the closing stages, Greengarth fought back well and were rewarded with a well-worked try.

n A SIX-try onslaught in the first half from a strong Keswick squad left Windermere Seconds shell-shocked and they eventually lost 45-5.

Although none of the tries were converted, Windermere did not have an answer to their rampant home side who won ball at every phase and spun it wide to great effect.

Reorganising at half time, Windermere made some strategic positional changes and showed a greater commitment to first-time tackling, with Mark Gibson and Mark Jarville outstanding.

Windermere secured only a small amount of possession overall but scored a try when Chris Lightburn chased a kick ahead to touch down for the 12th time this season.

The loss of prop Mark Evans did not help but Windermere restricted Keswick to three more tries and lost the second half only 15-5.

February 7, 2003 09:30