Chester 59
Lymm 24

With 11 changes to the squad from the previous week’s win over Fylde, Lymm travelled to top of the table Chester, to play on their new all-weather pitch. It was always going to be a tough game but Lymm’s young squad were prepared for the challenge.

Lymm kicked off and Chester soon gave notice of how they wanted to play the game by moving the ball around at pace, using the full width of the pitch. Lymm scrambled and struggled to keep them at bay and eventually the pressure told and they conceded two tries on the flanks, one of which was converted.

Things looked precarious for Lymm but as they got up to speed in the game, they managed to secure more possession. They started to go through the phases and use their strong runners in the forwards to make ground. It was after a number of phases that the evergreen David Williamson made a break 30 metres out drew the full back and put the hard working Kieran Williams in for a try which Josh Davies converted. However Chester came back strongly with another flowing move resulting in a converted try.

As the half went on the Lymm forwards were making ground down the middle led by the powerful James Mawdesley and James Pitcher. It was a visit to the Chester 22 that resulted in that man Dave Williamson making another break to stretch out to score an unconverted try.

Ht 19-12

Coach Peter Millachip emphasised that for the first 10 minutes from the restart, keeping possession and solid defence were vital. However weak tackling allowed Chester to score another try. This spurred Lymm into action and after good driving play close to the Chester line by the Baldwin boys, James Pitcher twisted in the tackle to get over for a try converted by Josh Davies. Chester now upped the pace and scored two converted tries resulting from weak tackling, which effectively won the game for them. They scored 3 further tries through their fast backs and Lymm were weakened by a serious injury to James Mawdesley but showed great spirit to batter away at the Chester line in the last few minutes for Henry Simpson to score a bonus point try.

Ft 59-24

Although the score looks like a hiding, for long patches in the first half Lymm maintained possession and territory making headway through their forwards. Chester are a good side with plenty of pace in their backs who capitalised on some indifferent tackling to take their chances well. However Lymm never gave in and there were a number of notable performances. James Mawdesley, until he was injured, never took a backward step and led the forwards well, Kieran Williams on his return from injury produced his usual ferocious tackling and strong running. Also young Sam Dickinson showed what a talent he is on his debut, taking the game to Chester at every opportunity. In the backs Dave Williamson produced a magnificent performance causing problems from stand off and used his experience to help the players around him. Also special mention to veteran Chris Barrett who answered the call and played his part in a strong scrum.

This is a tough league but after 4 games Lymm have shown they can compete and the players will be better for the experience, as it is a considerable step up from last year.

Lymm Squad:

O Brown, J Reynolds, J Davies, J Lewis, J Hamer, D Williamson , H Simpson, S Dickinson, K Williams, J Pitcher, H Baldwin, W Baldwin, C Barrett, R Makin, J Mawdesley. Replacements: O Chesworth, T Barrett, S Smith