Barnes get vital victory as Carlisle shines

BARNES were too strong for Worthing Raiders as two tries from Fraser Carlisle was enough to see them to a comfortable win.

Raiders’ early possession forced a penalty for winger Matthew Mclean to comfortably slot home in the eighth minute.

Barnes struggled to handle the pressure and survived an early scare, holding Worthing off the try line, but the forceful Raiders eventually scored as Robert Smith powered over the line off the back of the ruck.

But as Barnes found their feet, Worthing were caught napping. Full-back Tom O’Toole took a quick tap and slipped through the Worthing defence before feeding Edouard Alteirac out on the left, who ran over to close the gap in the 24th minute – but Worthing led 8-5 at the break.

Barnes burst into life in the second half though, taking the game to Raiders.

And Carlisle snuck through the Worthing back line and over for a try in the 44th minute, O’Toole easily converting.

And poor discipline at the breakdown from Worthing gave Barnes yet another penalty, which O’Toole easily kicked just before the hour.

With a clear hold on the game, O’Toole broke down the left flank again and offloaded to the waiting Carlisle to dive over for the final points of the game, giving Barnes the crucial win that closed the gap on their opponents to just one point.