Carlisle 27 Warrington 16

WARRINGTON tasted defeat for the first time in five games when they were well-beaten by Carlisle in North One West on Saturday.

Warrington had no answer to Carlisle’s forward power and the pace and handling of the hosts' backs.

The home side wasted no time in setting out their stall and took the lead when a scrum in the Warrington 22 saw the ball flashed out to the winger, who scored between the posts.

Warrington replied when Pat Roberts punished a Carlisle error with a well-struck penalty after a strong run from Duncan Rickard, but Carlisle soon hit back with a penalty of their own.

The visitors went into attack mode only to see a promising move foiled when a Carlisle centre intercepted a stray pass and ran 60 yards to touch down.

Warrington managed a second Roberts penalty before half time to narrow the gap to 17-6.

After the break, Warrington came out fighting and some sustained pressure was eventually converted into points when Kieran Hughes bustled over from short range to grab his side’s first try of the day.

The pressure did not last long, however, as Carlisle responded with a second penalty before putting the result out of reach when they elected to take the scrum rather than a penalty kick and shunted Warrington’s seven-man pack over the line.

The beaten side grabbed a late consolation when Hughes found space on his wing, chipped over the cover and recovered the ball to scuttle over.

Warrington have a chance to leap frog Vale of Lune on Saturday when they clash in a 2.15pm kick off.

n Warrington 3rd 15 n Preston Grasshoppers 3rd 29 A RARE defeat for Warrington’s third team came in the last eight of the BEST Trophy against Division Two North side Preston Grasshoppers.

Warrington are flying in Division Two South but are now out of the competition they won last season.

A Martin Tierney try, converted by Matt Drinkwater, put them ahead at half time after an early Preston effort.

The hosts increased the gap after the break with a try from Dan Griffiths but a penalty and a try in quick succession put the visitors back into the lead.

A Drinkwater penalty proved too little as Grasshoppers scored two converted tries to put themselves well beyond Warrington's reach with time running out.

Warrington thirds are back in league action on Saturday as they host Didsbury seconds. Kick off, 2.15pm.