Lymm 2nds 5 – 21 Chester 2nds

Nearly but not quite

This was a much changed side from the last two games with only 5 players from last week’s team due to unavailability and injuries in the first and seconds. Two Colts Ed Dobbs and Juan Chang were making their debut along with Matt Greiller. Chester are above Lymm in the league and are a good well coached side.

Chester kicked off and Lymm immediately handed the ball back to Chester who then had a period of pressure which Lymm managed to repel. The Chester forwards were proving a handful in the loose, making good ground and putting the Lymm defence on the back foot. When Lymm managed to get their hands on the ball, too often it was spilled or turned over at the breakdown. It was no surprised that Chester managed to force their way over for a converted try, 0-7.

They dominated the next 20 minutes retaining possession and dominating the line out. They scored two more converted tries and it looked ominous for Lymm. The only chance of the first fell to Ed Dobbs as he latched on to a drop pass in midfield kicked on and used his pace to outstrip the defence, but, in football parlance, his first touch let him down as the ball was kicked over the dead ball line.

Ht 0-21

Coach Millachip emphasised at half time the benefits of retaining possession and building pressure.

From the restart, it was a different side as Lymm ran harder and tackled better. The forwards led by the efforts of James Sherlock and Kieron Williams took the battle to Chester and pinned them in their own half for most of the second half. However the combination of good Chester tackling and poor execution limited Lymm to a try in the corner by Josh Hamer, 5-21. Lymm got over the try line twice more but failed to ground the ball correctly and also missed tries with the final pass going astray.

The second half performance from this young side was encouraging as they grew into the game. The effort and commitment could not be faulted with the young players gaining in confidence as the game went on. James Anderson adjusted well in the second half to the pace of the game.

Toby Phillips showed what a talented player he is with his footwork and pace, and in the forwards Kieron Williams is beginning to approach his best again after a lay off. The two Colts, Juan Chang and Ed Dobbs didn’t let themselves down showing promise for the future. Overall Chester deserved to win after their first half performance in attack and their defence in the second half.

Team: 15) Toby Phillips, 14) Edward Dobbs, 13) Tom Baker, 12) Richard McEvoy, 11) O Roberts, 10) George Anderson, 9) James Anderson, 8) Matt Greiller, 7) Kieron Williams, 6) Juan Chang, 5) Ben Polec, 4) Ben Sherlock, 3) James Sherlock, 2) Alex Stewart, 1) Ollie Brown. Reps: James Hamer, Reece Forrest.

Match Report: Malcolm Pritchard