Lancs Lynx 48 Workington Town 12 PUTTING aside a quiet first ten minutes, Lancashire Lynx produced a perfect display to destroy Workington and march to the top of the league.
Playing in front of the new and magnificent Bill Shankly Kop, the Lynx, spurred on by the impressive Jason Pekepo, were too strong, too powerful and too good for Workington.
However, they started slowly again and could have easily been two tries down after 10 minutes.
Good defence kept the Cumbrian team out, although they did kick two drop goals - including a surprise one after just 50 seconds.
As the crowd got louder their idols responded. A strong run from Pekepo set winger Steve Byrne away.
After side-stepping Town's full back Willie Richardson he passed inside to Ashcroft who opened Lynx's account for the fourth time in seven games.
Phil 'Indiana' Jones converted the try and while the theme tune from Raiders of the Lost Ark bellowed around Deepdale, Lynx bombarded the Workington line and scored again.
The impressive hooker John Donno put in a great kick from dummy-half and Australian Steve Byrne crossed for a great try.
Just as Lynx looked to extend their lead they lost their concentration as Workington's scrum-half Graeme Close ran on to his own kick to score with ease.
With veteran Richardson kicking the conversion the scores were once again close, 10-8.
Town tried to edge back in to the game but Lynx were determined to hold them off and did so in the only way they know how.
The impressive Donno led his team towards the Shankly Kop and attacked their opponents with brilliant handling and immaculate passing.
Tries from Lee Prest, Neil Parsley and Steve Byrne's second broke the hearts of Workington as the home team cruised to a 28-8 interval lead.
Only 30 seconds after the break the inspirational captain Andy Ruane was injured and had to be carried from the field.
The determined PJ Soloman replaced his captain and led by example with some excellent runs.
His countryman Pekepo continued his excellent form and rounded off a great move as he sprinted towards the line.
Just as it seemed Lynx were about to run up a cricket score the forwards lost their head as Barry Williams scored for Workington.
More mistakes followed as the players clashed.
Richard Henare, known for his bad temper, got involved in a scuffle with Donno after stopping a six-man move.
After a long chat with the referee, Henare amazingly stayed on the field after clearly throwing a punch.
Top scorer Neil Parsley, playing at full-back after Murray went off injured, used his pace well to set up Darren Abram to score.
Two more tries, including a 50-yard run from Jones and a late score from Donno, put the final nails in Workington's coffin as Lynx ran out easy winners.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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