Barrow v Bears Match Report

Bears Liam Thompson

Barrow Raiders 44 Coventry Bears 22

Saturday 8th August, Craven Park, 6.30pm kick off

Coventry Bears put in an inspiring first half performance against the Barrow Raiders on Saturday evening although this was not enough to come away with the win as the Raiders won 44-22.

The Raiders got the scoring under way when Shane Toal touched down to make it 4-0.

However, the lead didn’t last long as Richie Hughes darted from Halfback to put the Bears in front. Again the lead wasn’t in place for a long period as Josh Ward put Barrow back in front much to the home fans delight.

In a tight game the Bears continued to put pressure on the Raiders line and they gave in to the pressure when Liam Thompson used his reach to bring proceedings level.

From here the visitors grew in confidence and this showed when they regathered the lead through a well worked try on the left wing which was finished off in spectacular fashion by Jamahl Hunte.

Again Barrow continued to stick with the Bears this time Cameron Pitman touched down to bring his side back to within two points. Then an Adam Nicholson try put the hosts back in front with six minutes left in the half.

The Bears responded superbly as they drove up the field and with two minutes remaining in the half Jack Francis crashed over to give Coventry a 22-20 lead at the break.

As would be expected the Raiders came out firing in the second half and it took them just two minutes to regather the lead when half back Lupton dummied his way over the line.

Again the Bears looked to respond to this however, on 58 minutes Chris Hankinson scored a controversial try as it appeared that the winger had knocked on a kick before touching down. Despite this the referee awarded the try to Barrow.

From there the host’s kicked on and Hankinson grabbed another try before Craig Briscoe rounded off the scoring to make it 44-22 at full time.

Despite the loss the Bears could hold their heads high as they challenged the Raiders for the duration of the game and could feel unlucky not to have toppled the Barrow outfit.

The Bears will now look to continue their improved performances against South Wales Scorpions on the 16th of August at Butts Park Arena.

Barrow Raiders:

Kyle Dolan, Shane Toal, Chris Hankinson, Andy Litherland, Cameron Pitman, Peter Lupton, Josh Ward, Joe Bullock, Brad Marwood, Adam Nicholson, Liam Harrison, Craig Briscoe, Dan Toal INTERCHANGE: Nathan Mossop, James Duerden, Bradd Crellin, Jamie Tracey

Coventry Bears:

Jason Bass, Jamahl Hunte, Dan Parker, Simon Phillips, Elliot Holton, Dan Price, Joel James, Jack Morrison, Richie Hughes, Andy Unsworth, Liam Thompson, Chris Barratt, Matt Cooper INTERCHANGE: Tom Hall, Nick Taylor, Alex Beddows, Jack Francis

This week the Bears are home to South Wales Scorpions on Sunday 16th August, 3pm kick off Butts Park Arena.