WORKINGTON Town made it five wins from five games against Whitehaven in 2015 as they ran away as 60-20 winners in Sunday’s West Cumbrian derby. 

Town scored a superb 11 tries with winger Brett Carter scoring a hat-trick as the home side booked their place in the Championship Shield play-offs with an emphatic win over their rivals. 

The result means that Haven will go into the last day of the season unsure of their place in next year’s Championship. 

Should Hunslet win against Batley next weekend they will be level on points with Haven. The Cumbrians will need to avoid a 58-point swing during the final weekend if they lose to Doncaster to avoid relegation to League One. 

Haven could have put those worries to bed yesterday with a win, but travelling to their closest rivals with a weakened squad was always going to be a tough ask. 

They were well in the fight for the first 20 minutes as they matched Workington blow for blow but an enthusiastic Town side managed to create gaps for themselves and scored some superb tries along the way as they raced to a 40-10 lead at the break. 

Haven were much improved in the second half as they added two scores of their own and asked questions of Town’s defence but the result was well beyond their reach as Town added another 20 points to their tally. 

Elliott Miller and Jarrad Stack each bagged a brace with further scores coming from Jack Murphy, Jason Mossop, Carl Forber and Jarrod Sammut. Sammut also kicked eight goals from 11 attempts to take his personal points total to 22. 

Haven half-back Dion Aiye was heroic for the visiting side as he scored a hat-trick but his efforts proved in vain as Haven lost yet another west Cumbrian derby. 

After both sides shipped 50 points in defeat last weekend, the tone of the game was going to be set in the early exchanges as both sides were desperate for the win. 

Town couldn’t have asked for a better start as they scored on the third tackle of their first set of the afternoon. They worked the ball to the left edge and Mossop delayed a pass long enough to play Miller into space. 

The winger then raced 60 metres down the line and beat Haven full-back Ed Chamberlain for pace to add to his own personal tally against Haven after scoring a hat-trick in their meeting at The Recreation Ground in July. 

But Town allowed Haven back into the game as they let their opponents get away with some slick offloading to create space in their half. 

Their determination was rewarded as Aiye backed himself from 10 metres out to score a fine individual try. Chamberlain missed the conversion but Haven trailed by just two points. 

Just as Haven looked to try and pin Town in their half they allowed them in for their second try of the afternoon. Newton kicked to touch for a Town scrum on their 20-metre line.

Straight from the scrum the ball was passed to Miller who broke through an attempted tackle from Sam Brooks and again raced away. He passed out to Murphy in support and the full-back helped put Town 12-4 up. 

Again Town were guilty of giving Haven easy ball as Liam McAvoy knocked on inside his half to hand possession back to the visitors.

In the ensuing set James Newton kicked a grubber towards Town’s goal posts and three Haven players found themselves over the ball with Aiye putting it down for his second try of the game. Chamberlain converted but, from then on, it would be all Town for the rest of the half. 

Workington won a goal-line dropout straight from the restart. Haven then conceded a penalty for not releasing and Town went on to score through Carter after shifting the ball from let to right. 

James Coyle’s side again threatened to hit back as they attacked Town’s line but Sammut, as he has done on so many occasions this season, came up with an interception to set his side away for their fourth try, which Stack finished down the right-hand side. 

Haven’s cause wasn’t helped as Scott McAvoy came off with an injury in the build-up to Town’s next score which was finished by Mossop and the hosts found themselves 28-10 up. 

Forber and Miller added to the total as they scored within two minutes of each other to put Town in the driving seat and 40-10 up at half-time. 

It was more of the same from Town at the start of the second half and Carter forced his way through three defenders to score. 

Sammut then came up with his try after taking a kind bounce from Forber’s high kick on the last tackle. 

Workington then went 54-10 ahead as Carter finished his hat-trick with a great run down the right-hand side, getting the better of opposite number Craig Calvert. 

Trailing by 44 points Haven started to get into the game as they managed to string some sets together. A 40-20 set Haven up on Town’s 10-metre line and, after both Brooks and Tyla Hepi were held up, Aiye managed to force his way over for his hat-trick try. 

Moments later Haven then scored their fourth of the day as a kick from Grant Gore was spilled by Murphy. Connor Holliday collected the loose ball and muscled his way through Town’s defence to find Thomas Coyle who touched down in the corner. 

Stack and Town had the final say of the afternoon as his side forced a goal-line dropout. The Aussie took a pass and from 20 metres out he stepped three Haven players to score next to the posts, leaving Sammut an easy conversion to rubber-stamp Town’s place in the Championship Shield semi-finals.

Match Facts

Town: Murphy, Miller, Mossop, Stack, Carter; Doran, Sammut; Coward, C Phillips, Shackley, B Phillips, Szostak, McAvoy. Subs: Forber, Olstrom, Walker, Scholey.

Tries: Miller 2, Murphy, Carter 3, Stack 2, Mossop, Forber, Sammut.

Goals: Sammut 8/11.

Star man: Brett Carter. 

Haven: Chamberlain, Holliday, Taylor, McAvoy, Calvert; Aiye, Gore; Beaumont, Newton, Chapelhow, Quinn, Hepi, Brooks. Subs: Robinson, Fox, Davies, Coyle.

Tries: Aiye 3, Coyle.

Goals: Chamberlain 2/4.

Star man: Dion Aiye. 

Attendance: 1,559. 

Referee: M Woodhead.

Half-time: 40-10.

Penalties: 4-7.