Report by Simon Plumb
A much changed Lymm side crashed out of the Cheshire Vase at the semi-final stage as they were beaten 42-26 by Wirral.
It was a chastening experience for Lymm, following their 33-10 victory in the league two weeks previously.
Fielding a team with only five first choice starters, Lymm were immediately under the cosh, leaking three well worked tries from the hosts in the first 25minutes. This was certainly a half to forget especially as this correspondent missed this period due to the earlier kick off arranged on the day. What would Mick Cleary think?
At 17- 0 down Lymm were being starved of possession and Wirral were clearly on a mission to avenge the heavy defeat at Beechwood. Lymm also butchered a clear-cut try-scoring chance as the new combinations bedded in. Prop Mike Auden was also yellow carded for not retreating 10m, making a tough fixture even harder for this young team. This was further compounded when centre Lucas Titherington was also carded with 7 minutes of the half remaining. Lymm eventually began to get a foothold as the half drew to a close and, after sustained pressure, Richard McEvoy, playing at full back, burst through several tackles only to be dispossessed as he vainly reached for the line.
Wirral, showing a level of class, then went the full length for the winger to score wide out on the right. The score line suddenly went from a prospective a 17-7 to 22-0 in the blink of an eye, and a mountain to climb for the visitors, as the half concluded.
Lymm continued to look disjointed and starved of possession as Wirral turned the screw. The host’s Fly Half Craig Harvey then took a ball 10m out and sidestepped his way to the line wide out on the left, after 5 minutes of the second half, taking the score to 27-0.
While Lymm’s scrum was holding its own the line out remained dysfunctional, removing any real momentum. However, a series of sweeping movements and good hands gave Lymm fly-half Rhys Jones a chance to dot down between the posts, 27-7, converted by scrum half Tom Shard. With back row Jake Ashall back after injury, showing his usual marauding form, a concerted attack eventually led to McEvoy also dotting down between the posts, duly converted by Shard, 27-14, and a glimmer of hope for the travelling support.
Feeling the pressure of a potential comeback, Wirral took a controversial penalty they were offered near the posts to extend the lead to, 30-14. Instead of taking every opportunity to run at the tired legs of the opposition, Lymm then chose to kick away possession and also missing touch at key points. A midfield battle ensued until the Wirral prop Higginson, burst through some poor defending to score near the posts from 15m out, 37-14.
From the restart the ball went loose and fell to centre Richard Halford who sprinted 25m to score wide out on the left. He had been giving his opposite numbers problems all afternoon and this was a deserved reward, 37-19 as the clock ticked down. There was still time for Halford’s cousin, lock Aaron Rasheed, to emulate him, he also scored in a similar fashion minutes later backing up another Halford break, 37-26 with Shard’s conversion, and game on.
But Wirral finished with a flourish as their lock rumbled over from an attacking line out taking the final score to 42-26, and a fair, if slightly humbling, scoreline.
Coach Adam Fletcher was sanguine after the final whistle. he said: “We lost it in the first 20 minutes really. We had always planned to rest some of our key players for this fixture, because the league is our main focus this season. You want the guys to compete for places and this is what we are building. But when second team players came in they initially were not ready for the tempo and physicality at this level.
“It took us 30minutes to get used to this level, but once we did we were already 27 points down in the second half. Credit to the boys though for the fight-back, it was a big step up for many of them but overall I am pleased with the spirit they showed. Now please excuse me, I need a pin to adjust my lederhosen!’
This Saturday Lymm will be back in league action when they travel to play Kendal.
Squad: Mike Auden, Matt Hand, Jordan Widdrington, Rob Makin, Aaron Rasheed, Ben Rees, Jake Ashall, Andy Kerr (C), Tom Shard, Scott Redfern, Joe Denman, Rhys Jones, Richard Halford, Jack Worton, Richard McEvoy. Replacements: James Lewis, Josh Davies, Lucas Titherington, Henry Baldwin, Joe Watson.
