August 23, 2021 - 702 views
North Wales Crusaders made it six consecutive wins, beating top of the table for the second week running to see off Workington Town comfortably.
Anthony Murray’s men now have some real momentum heading into the closing stages of the season and were the far superior side from start to finish.
After establishing an 18-12 lead by half-time, Crusaders managed the game excellently and played some delightful rugby league to kill off the match late on.
Crusaders took the lead early on when Tommy Johnson was put through the line on halfway, raced clear and had Ben Morris in support to finish off the move.
It didn’t take long for North Wales to build on their advantage as, after Chris Barratt went close, Karl Ashall’s short ball put Warren Thompson over from close range.
Following a spell of pressure near Crusaders’ line, Workington hit back through Zac Olstrom, who collected a nice cut-out pass to the wing to finish out wide.
But the Welshmen soon re-established their 12-point lead, with Alex Eckely crashing over next to the posts.
With half-time fast approaching, Town got themselves back in the game as Jamie Doran made a half break and freed his arm to put Marcus O’Brien over.
The start of the second-half was always going to be key and Crusaders added their fourth through Pat Ah Van, who profited from some nice play to cross in the right corner.
The visitors nudged themselves further ahead as Johnson kicked a penalty goal, taking the lead to 24-12.
While the game was in the balance for the next 20 minutes, North Wales grabbed three tries in the final 15 minutes to seal a huge victory.
Crusaders created an overlap down the left and a nice cut-out pass from Johnson put Massam over in the corner.
Gav Rodden then made a half break and managed to free his arm for Matt Reid to touch down.
And North Wales’ final score of the afternoon came through Matty Race, who was put through a gap in the Workington defence and had the pace to round the fullback.
Town grabbed a consolation late on as Calvin Wellington squeezed over in the left corner.
