Blackpool 1s v Keswick 1s

Boasting a full strength squad Keswick were ready for another high tempo feisty game agains Blackpool who had provided some of the best games over recent seasons always bringing out the best of Keswick,

Keswick's ever solid back 5 of Gary Tupper Thomas Morgan Chris Mattear Jamie O'shea and Rob Owen boasted the second best defence in the league going into this game and were happy to see Blackpool's familiar two centre forwards and hoped to restrict them to as few opportunities as possible.

The game started at a frantic pace as usual with a very disciplined display from the midfield as they battled to gain some momentum classy performances from C. Shaun Wilson, Mark Bowen and Charles Jackson helped the attackers into some very good positions and the pressure paid off as a great move down the wing found Rikki Barnes who Cooly deflected the ball into the path of the on running Rob Cook who calmly squared the ball for Mark Proctor to open the scoring.

The rest of the half was a mix of a midfield battle and Blackpool looking for short corners, although they managed to rack up half a dozen shorts Keswick weathered the storm right until the last where Blackpool levelled to send the teams into the break all square

After a right rollicking during the break Keswick came out all guns blazing and made a quick start in putting the game to bed. Rob Cook opened his account for today working well with his attackers Ben Harrison down the left feeding the ball into Barnes who selflessly set up his counterpart.

Keswicks high tempo aggressive game restricted Blackpool to only a few scraps in the second half and as their back line pushed higher to mount an attack Keswick retrieved possession thanks to the tireless legs of Clive Swanston and he surged in on goal, a short corner awarded and the expertly finished by the combination play from Cook again and Morgan who got himself on the score sheet

A clever restart from Keswick saw centre back Mattear overlap his right half and right mid in a bid to get his first goal for the 1s in a Barron 8 years, Morgan expertly weaved his way through most of the Blackpool team and fed an inviting ball into the D and the desperate Mattear who forgot he had slippers on and subsequently crashed into the turf under the waterfall of his own nose bleed! Safe to say the score remained 4-1

An excellent all round performance from Luke Heap was capped off with a trademark Tomahawk goal via the now, very common assist of V.C. Mark Proctor

Keswicks centre backs Mattear and O'shea although battle hardened were again playing through the pain to help their team and 1 to many last ditch recovery tackles took its toll on the former who was forced off in the last quarter of the match with a damaged hand, suspected broken knuckles later turned out to be hairline fractures and bruising who should make a full recovery for the next match

Rob cook double his score and finished off his hat-tick with a clinical near post finish and then a very old school short corner where he took heed of wise words from Mark Bowen and with the Blackpool defenders rooted to the ground unsure of what crafty routine was coming their way riffled the ball into the bottom corner to end the match with a comfortable 6-1 second half rout!

Keswick travelled home jubilant, knowing the fixture swap and early start didn't mess with their heads and with 3 crucial points showing they were not to be underestimated

Next weeks remembrance weekend fixture sees Keswick travel away to Wigan men's 1s looking to stay at the top of the pile