The landlady and her partner escorted Gothard – who lived three to four houses from the bar – away to “calm the situation down”, jurors heard.
But instead of going home, Gothard got into a fight with a man who he had been “riling and niggling and irritating at” in the bar, the jury was told.
Joyce said Gothard, of Church Street, Appleby Magna, lost the fight and was “knocked down” and kicked, causing an injury to his face.
“David Darke, the man soon to be killed, in fact picked him up and helped pull him to his feet,” Joyce added.
“The defendant, in his rage, after losing the fight he had picked, attacked Mr Darke to save his own face.
“He hit him so hard that he killed him. You do that in your rage because of intent to cause someone really serious harm – that’s murder.
“David Darke was a man of 66 and he hit his head on the ground, and he was taken to hospital and a few days later he died.”
The prosecutor said after the attack, Gothard told police an “elderly male kept saying he was going to kill me and bury me”.
“He was looking for a fight. He got a fight. He lost the first one. He lost face and so he attacked the man he described as the ‘elderly man’,” Joyce said.
The trial continues.