The prop instantly knew his fate after lashing out in retaliation to the Gateshead number eight Glendinning throwing the ball at Dan Boatman. Retaliation was no excuse and the punch deserved the straight red from referee John Meredith, a decision nobody present at Brinkburn could disagree with.

A penalty from Paul Moss had put West into the lead before the sending off and with Glendinning and Andrew Dixon dismissed to the sin-bin for continuing the disagreement moments later Moss added another penalty goal. Thankfully the players decided to get on with playing rugby after that but neither side really gained the upper hand and it took until 5 minutes before the break for the next score, Simpson pulling back a penalty for the visitors.

Tactically West had not seemed to respond all that well to the man disadvantage but in first half injury time they made sure the half-time scoreline looked a lot healthier. Firstly, Andrew Hare finished off a short side move from a scrum to score the opening try and then, almost from the restart, came the try of the afternoon from Rob Thorn. Temporarily standing for Peter Hodgson at centre the wingman broke from inside his own 22, racing clear, breaking the last tackle to score a tremendous solo try. Unfortunately it was a rare moment with ball in hand for Thorn and West need to find a way of getting the ball in his hands, either on the wing or at centre, as he is a constant threat to defences not only with his strong running but also creating holes for others by attracting the attention of would-be tacklers.

The two late tries may have changed the scoreline somewhat but they didn't alter Tim Saywer's half time team talk. The coach was vocal in the players circle and they responded to his words with an excellent second half performance, never really letting Gateshead have a sniff of getting back in the game, and playing the sort of solid rugby needed to close out games.

Dan Boatman scored an early try, popping up in the centre to finish off a good period of attacking play and as West began to gain the upper-hand Glendinning joined Carr on the sidelines after being dismissed for a second yellow card offence, a cynical trip on Thorn as he attempted to charge down a kick. As he left the field, with him went any real chance of Gateshead making a comeback. Moss added the resulting penalty and moments later Davy Tighe raced from the back of a scrum to touchdown in the corner to make the lead 31-3 with 28 minutes to play.

Carl Robinson crashed in for the fifth try of the afternoon 8 minutes later with Moss adding the conversion. Gateshead began to show a little promise in the final quarter of the game and some good handling created space for winger Morgan to speed away and score a consolation try 10 minutes before time.

This was a pretty good performance from West, particularly in the second half where the game was closed out very well with a well executed, territorial, game plan. The build up can now begin to a highly anticipated derby next Saturday and one which should be an intriguing contest. With Rovers upsetting Aspatria today confidence will be high over at the Friarage and if West are to claim their final scalp in North Two East they will have to be on the top of their game.



West: Painter, Thorn, Hodgson, Howe, Hare (Cheslin), Moss, Tighe, Carr, A Dixon, Robinson, T Dixon, Rudd (Tones), D Boatman, J Boatman, Garside (Cullinane).

Tries: Hare, Thorn, D Boatman, Tighe, Robinson
Cons: Moss 2
Pens: Moss 3

Sin-bin: A Dixon
Sent-off: Carr

Gateshead: Cloak, Morgan, Tate, Kell, Schofield, Simpson, Foster, McKeown, Douglas, Burns, Carr, McConway, Stevenson, Ingham, Glendinning
Reps: Rowell, Tweddle, Harbron

Try: Morgan
Pen: Simpson

Sin-bin: Glendinning
Sent-off: Glendinning

Referee: John Meredith [Durham Society]