by John Cartwright
CHRISTMAS came early for Lymm as they made the short journey to Stockport and recorded a 12-66 victory.
This game was a different proposition to the previous hard fought victory over Ilkley, with nothing but a bonus point victory, against a side sitting rock bottom of the league with no points, being acceptable.
The game kicked-off in wintery conditions and any fears of complacency on behalf of Lymm were dismissed in an instant as Joe Denman crossed the line in the first two-minutes. Cormac Nolan converting. Olli Higginson followed 5 minutes later bludgeoning his way over to take the score to 12-0. Two further tries followed in quick succession from Nolan and Richard McEvoy and the bonus point was secured after 15 first half minutes.
The scoring continued and on 20 minutes Lymm were awarded a penalty try following an infringement at an attacking scrum. Jake Ashall then joined in the fun with a great run through the Stockport defence to make the score 40-0.
Lymm had secured the game in the first 30 minutes with great presence of mind and determined play in both attack and defence. Strong pacey running by Lymm proved too much for the beleaguered home side. McEvoy was a particular nuisance to the home defence all day.
Stockport did however come to life in the last 10 minutes of the first half through their forwards and took the game back to Lymm, leading to a deserved close quarter try following a catch and drive. Half-time 40 – 7.
Stockport came out in the same frame of mind in the second half and continued to take the game to the Lymm pack. The Stockport No 8 stepped up his game and was difficult to bring down – but this forward play was not enough to overcome the obvious gap between the two sides. When the ball was played out to the Lymm backs they proved far too much for their Stockport opposite numbers.
Further tries followed through the backs from Nolan, McEvoy, who went the full length to score and Tom Baker. The scoring sequence was punctuated by a second Stockport try. On 40 minutes Ross White brought proceedings to a halt with a converted try to make the final score 66 – 12.
This was an excellent performance from Lymm and a much needed game following a hard sequence of matches. The players and coaching staff will know far more difficult challenges lie ahead but the win takes Lymm into a comfortable mid-table position.
Next up Morley at home.
Team – Dan Horton, Ross White, Jordan Widdrington, Alex Kaihau, Mike Auden, Jake Ashall, Matty Connelly, Adam Bray (C), Andy Davies, Will Titherington, Cormac Nolan, Ollie Higginson, Richard McAvoy, Joe Denman, Tom Bray. Substitutes – Jack Harper, Tom Baker, James Yates.
