Raiders’ head coach Paul Crarey has paid testament to Workington Town after the Raiders progressed through to the sixth round of the Challenge Cup following a tough encounter in a Cumbrian derby.

Prior to the tie, Paul Crarey expected to see all form going out of the window in a Cumbrian derby; with Barrow Raiders and Workington Town being separated by ten positions in the league table, he was proved right as Town hit back against the Raiders to go into the interval with a 18-12 lead.

Eventually, the Raiders regained their composure in the second-half and put 20 unanswered points past Workington to claim a 32-18 victory to progress into Round 6 of the Betfred Challenge Cup.

Crarey praised the Workington Town players for their fantastic efforts in the bout, and extended his thanks to the Town fans who made the day even more special.

“I’d like to congratulate Workington for their massive effort and also to the Workington fans who sang all game to inspire the team. They could have come down here and rolled over but that was never going to happen.”

Crarey added that his team’s first-half performance seemed to be hampered by Monday night’s victory against Widnes, but after a reshuffle of the pack, the Raiders regained their composure: “I thought we lacked energy in the first period. I think Monday night took its toll on us massively.

“Towards the back end of the first-half we took our middles off and moved Danny Toal into the middle to give us that energy to push around the ball, and that paid off with a try bang on half-time which gave us a real lifeline.

“We kept our middles out till 17 minutes to go and then we injected them on. When they started to play around the ball, there was only going to be one winner in that period.”

He further praised Workington Town for their dogged performance in a tough Cumbrian clash, “I can’t fault the effort from Workington Town.

“All the credit must go to them for coming here and putting on a show. They busted us up, we ran out of bodies in the end and it was a real tough Cumbrian derby.

“I’m pleased to get the result because every time we play Workington, we can’t seem to get away from them, which is testament to Chris [Thorman], the team and coaching staff for what they are doing there.

“We’re just glad to get the win and get out of there to be in the hat for the next round; we’ve had a big week and now we’re looking forward to London [Broncos].”

Paul Crarey’s team are back in league action next Sunday as they welcome London Broncos to the Matt Johnson Prestige Stadium.

Get your tickets for Sunday’s home league tie against London Broncos!