BARROW Raiders will face a return trip to Whitehaven in the Kingstone Press League One Super Eights after suffering a 32-6 defeat away to their Cumbrian rivals in the final match of the regular season on Sunday afternoon.

Head coach Paul Crarey brought senior players Ryan Fieldhouse, Nathan Mossop, Declan Hulme and Martin Aspinwall back into the side for the clash, which would decide who took finished second heading into the second part of the season.

But the Raiders never recovered from going 12 points behind in the first 20 minutes, while referee Jonathan Roberts was kept busy in a fractious encounter which saw a total of five players shown yellow cards.

It was a disjointed start from both teams with several knock-ons and stray passes, with Haven taking the lead in a third minute with a penalty from Paul Crook 20 metres out after Barrow had ripped the ball out in the tackle.

Things got worse for the visitors on nine minutes though when skipper Ollie Wilkes was sent to the sin bin for a late hit on Whitehaven player-coach Carl Forster, and the home side made the most of their numerical advantage to send Dave Thompson over out wide for an unconverted try.

Seven minutes later, Haven were in again when Glenn Riley bashed his way through the defence to score a try which was converted by Crook after Barrow had scrambled to stop Jessie Joe Parker just short of the line.

Restored to their full complement, the Raiders began to enjoy more possession in opposition territory and eventually found a way through on 28 minutes when Tom Walker twisted his way over for a try converted by Lewis Charnock.

Otherwise there was little to choose between the teams, although it was Haven's turn to have a man in the bin 10 minutes into the second half when James Newton was shown a yellow card for being involved in an altercation in back-play.

However, the Raiders were unable to capitalise on having the extra man and even when Shane Toal did get over the line, play was pulled back for a forward pass. Indeed, the hosts extended their lead during this period thanks to scrum-half Crook booting over a penalty from 45 metres out.

And when they were back to a full 13, Whitehaven soon had their third try of the afternoon when Aiye spied a gap in the defence to dart through for a score which Crook duly converted.

Further tries from Ste Roper and Scott McAvoy, both of which Crook kicked the extras for, duly sealed a deserved win for Whitehaven, while the match finished with both Danny Morrow and Chris Taylor being shown yellow cards for fighting, and Jamie Dallimore getting the same punishment for a high tackle.

Whitehaven: Elliot Miller; David Thompson, Jesse Joe Parker, Chris Taylor, Jordan Burns; Dion Aiye, Paul Crook; Mark Shackley, James Tilley, Glenn Riley, Connor Holliday, Scott McAvoy, Carl Forster. Interchange: Steven Roper, James Newton, Tom Holland, Aiden Worthington.

Barrow Raiders: Ryan Fieldhouse; Shane Toal, Declan Hulme, Jarrad Stack, Brett Carter; Jamie Dallimore, Lewis Charnock; Joe Bullock, Nathan Mossop, Ollie Wilkes, Danny Morrow, Bradd Crellin, Martin Aspinwall. Interchange: Karl Ashall, James Duerden, Dan Toal, Tom Walker.

Referee: Jonathan Roberts.