Lymm 33 – 43 Cinderford

Lymm’s fighting spirit shines despite scoreboard setback

Despite the final score, Lymm’s relentless attack and dominance in territory show a team with plenty to build on.

Lymm welcomed Cinderford to Crouchley Lane on a bright December afternoon, with a cold breeze blowing towards the Clubhouse. Lymm made three changes from their trip to Barnstable in the starting line-up, with Yates and Thompson in the second row and Ure at flanker.

Lymm kicked off away from the clubhouse. The opening skirmishes were dominated by tight defences, with neither team making much ground and most play in the middle of the field until a penalty from a scrum offence allowed Cinderford to kick to the corner. As so often at this level, the result was predictable: a well-taken line-out from Cinderford allowed them to gain the momentum to drive over the Lymm try line for the opening score, 0-7 after 6 mins.

Morris won the restart well, and neat work in midfield put Senior into the slightest of gaps on the right wing, with scrambling Cinderford defence just preventing the score. But Morris, who was at the heart of most of the Lymm attacks all day, was put in space from the subsequent play and touched down. 5-7 after 11 mins.

Lymm launched an attack from the restart once again, and Senior once more came close. Quick thinking from Manaton after a penalty saw him slice through a sluggish Cinderford defence to put the home side in front for the first time, with Reynolds adding the conversion. 12-7 with 16 minutes on the clock.

The home side appeared to be in the ascendancy, and when Cinderford took the ball into touch in their 22m, it was Lymm’s turn to win the lineout and drive strongly towards the line, allowing Pitcher to score a well-executed try, with Reynolds once again adding the extras.

After 20 minutes, Lymm was now 19-7 ahead and had enjoyed a prolific 10 minutes, breaking through Cinderford’s defence and defending well against the well-organised and strong-running opposition.

A fierce break in midfield from Reynolds seemed likely to lead to another score, but Lymm were held up over the line, resulting in a dropout restart. Cinderford’s set-piece play was strong all afternoon, and after two quick penalties against Lymm for high tackles, Cinderford was again within striking distance of the Lymm try line with a line-out. The following drive resulted in Cinderford’s second try, which was successfully converted. The score stood at 19-12 after 35 minutes.

The referee was now scrutinising Lymm’s scrum and a “not straight” penalty was awarded against Lymm (not seen one of those for a while). From the next open play, Lymm were again penalised for a high tackle. After winning the line-out and moving the ball out to the backs, the Cinderford 10 chipped over the oncoming Lymm defence, allowing the Cinderford 15 to capitalise on a dropped ball as two Lymm players went for the same ball, and he ran in for an unconverted try in 40 minutes. 19-19.

Half Time: Lymm 19 – 19 Cinderford

Lymm received the kick-off and immediately advanced into Cinderford’s 22 metres, aiming to regain the lead they had held until the last minute of the first half. The Cinderford defence was solid, and a Lymm grubber kick from midfield went dead, relieving pressure but also giving the opposition some respite from defending. Cinderford took advantage of this, and a midfield break allowed them to take the lead. The score was 19-24 after 46 minutes.

Lymm continued to dominate territory but could not breach the defensive line to score. At 60 minutes, another impressive piece of skill from Morris put Jennings in space, and the converted bonus point try nudged Lymm ahead again 26-24 after 60 minutes. Cinderford noticeably increased their pace from the restart, and with space out wide, they created an overlap to score. 26-29 after 65 mins. This was only the second time in the second half that Cinderford had managed to enter the Lymm half.

For the next 10 minutes, Lymm continued to attack the Cinderford line through backs and forwards, but were held up by resolute defence. Yet again, it was Cinderford who scored next after absorbing the Lymm pressure, with a rare venture into Lymm territory and a gap in the Lymm defence being exploited, leading to a try under the posts, duly converted. 26-36 and 10 minutes remaining. Lymm had been in command of the ball and territory all half, and perhaps all game, but had not kept ahead on the scoreboard.

Lymm hit back immediately, with Pilkington breaking through the Cinderford defence and good handling again allowing Jennings to score. A quick conversion from Reynolds added the two points, and at 33-36, Lymm might pull the result out of the bag. But it was not to be. Another penalty to Cinderford for a Lymm high tackle, a kick to the corner and a successful line out and driving maul led to the final converted try of the afternoon. 33-43.

Final Score: Lymm 33 – 43 Cinderford

A match that I am sure Lymm believe they could and should have won. With 80% of the territory in the second half and several half-chances to score, they certainly were in a position to win the game. Scores by Cinderford with the last plays of each half will have been frustrating.

This division is very evenly matched, and just one or two missed opportunities or errors can be the difference between a win and a loss. The fact that Lymm continues to create lots of scoring chances against all teams they face bodes well for the rest of the season.

‘This was a pretty frustrating day’, commented Director of Rugby Adam Fletcher. ‘We had a 25 minute purple patch where it looked like we were going to score every time we touched the ball.

‘We had a great opportunity to lead 24-7 but unfortunately knocked the ball on over the line. We lost momentum just before half-time and never really got it back. Our set piece didn’t function how we would like it to and that hampered us especially in the second half.

‘We need to figure out how to turn 25 minutes of dominance into 50-60mins. Looking forward to Chester now and a spicy local derby,’ concluded Adam.

Lymm’s next fixture is on Saturday 20^th December when they travel the short distance to Hare Lane to play Chester, KO 2pm.

Team: Ben Lilley (32); James Pitcher* (102); Dalitso Ngoma (10); James Yates* (145); Ben Thompson (60); Rhys Lilly* (83);  Max Ure* (8); Josh Hadland (c)* (70); Tom Manaton (36);  Jack Reynolds (44); Paddy Jennings* (90); Joe Heaton* (8); Ste Pilkington* (93); Joe Senior* (39); Cal Morris (75).

Bench: Jack Lightbown (8); Sam Wicks (11); Oli Higginson* (290); Cormac Nolan* (217); Alfie Simpson* (49).

( ) = number of Lymm First XV League appearances

* Former Lymm Academy/M&J player

Referee: Andrew Shaw

Match Report: Paul Nolan