STEETON will be happy to see the back of another trip to Cumbria this season after losing 5-1 at Cleator Moor Celtic in the NWCFL First Division North on Saturday.

Much like their last visit to the county – a loss by the same scoreline at Holker Old Boys in January – the Chevrons were never really in this match and had goalkeeper Cam Perron to thank for preventing a cricket score.

Roy Mason must have been left wondering if a Cumbrian curse had befallen his Steeton team when both Jordan Townend and Marshall Getty pulled up in the warm-up, though he could have no complaints about his side trailing at the interval.

Cleator extended their advantage shortly after the break, and despite Toby Jeffrey’s penalty offering a glimmer of hope for the Chevrons, Callum Birdsall and substitute Matthew Reid wrapped up a deserved three points for the dominant hosts late on.

Both sides struggled to maintain possession in a cagey opening to proceedings, but it was Cleator who looked to have put themselves ahead with 16 minutes on the clock.

A corner from the left was headed home by Birdsall, but he was adjudged to have fouled Perron in the process, with the referee instead awarding a free-kick to the visitors.

That early scare woke Steeton up, but as some feisty challenges began to creep into the match, it was the hosts that remained firmly on the front foot.

Birdsall fizzed narrowly wide of the far post and Darren Little shot into the advertising boards before both linked up to put the Cumbrians ahead in the 33rd minute.

Meeting a long throw, Birdsall flicked the ball to Little, who beat the offside trap to poke the ball under Perron and into the back of the net from five yards.

Perron was called into action to deny Brad Tatton, Birdsall and Little in quick succession on the stroke of half-time, with the Chevrons doing just enough to keep themselves in with a chance at the break.

Andy Briggs forced Craig Rule into his first save of the match early in the second half, but it wasn’t long before the Steeton backline was breached again.

With 59 minutes gone, Birdsall finally added his name to the scoresheet after meeting a corner and looping a header over Perron at the far post.

The visiting stopper got down well to deny Little from the restart, but from the resulting corner, the hosts had their third, Jamie Glover arrowing a low strike from the edge of the box across goal and into the bottom corner.

The quick flurry of goals continued just three minutes later when Jordan Little handled Jerry White’s goal-bound shot to gift Steeton a way back into the match.

Jeffrey duly dispatched the spot-kick for his second goal in as many games, and the Chevrons’ 200th in the NWCFL.

Cleator’s Jake Smith was sent to the sin-bin in the aftermath to temporarily reduce the hosts to ten men, but an injury to Ben Darkins saw the visitors spend most of that time with reduced numbers themselves, though Getty did recover enough to be able to be substituted on for the final 20 minutes.

White was also left needing treatment with ten minutes to go after a nasty clash of heads left him bloodied as Steeton’s afternoon went from bad to worse, with the hosts making sure of the win soon after.

Despite two fantastic saves from Perron, from a corner the Chevrons switched off at the back, allowing the onrushing Reid to head home at the far post to spark wild celebrations.

There was still time for Birdsall to score his second, and the hosts’ fifth, deep into injury time after he latched onto a long ball forward before rounding two defenders and finishing past Perron.

Despite the defeat, Steeton only drop one place to 13th, ahead of their final away game of the season at AFC Blackpool on Saturday.