Points at a premium for Lymm

POINTS were at a premium as Lymm were held to a 3-3 draw by visitors West Hartlepool on a dry, sunny day, with no wind.
The top surface of the pitch was slippery, but otherwise conditions were perfect for a fast, flowing, attacking game of rugby. Accordingly, both sets of players and spectactors were hoping for a few tries, especially bearing in mind the teams managed only one between them in their encounter at West Hartlepool in October, one that Lymm won by 5 points to nil. 80 minutes later at Beechwood, in a match dominated by defences, one more point was scored, with honours even, but disappointingly there were no tries.
Lymm started as brightly as the weather and appeared intent on playing a more expansive style of rugby than has been seen in the past few weeks, but despite much endeavour they were unable to convert possession and territory in the first half into points.
The same could be said for West Hartlepool in the second half, who could have sneaked revenge for the home defeat if only their kicker hadn’t pulled and pushed two penalty kicks wide, one of them being the very last kick of the match. So, mixed feelings on the pitch and on the touchline at the end, and much to do by both teams to get back into winning ways.
Lymm welcomed back Tom Baker at scrum-half and Luke Emmitt at fly-half. Both of them put in good, long, raking kicks in the first few minutes to put West Hartlepool under early pressure. This led to a penalty that Emmitt converted to put Lymm 3 points in the lead after only 4 minutes.
Centre Tom Bray had a particularly good first half, making two tremendous 35 metre runs that set up try scoring opportunities for his team, but unfortunately neither was taken. Tom also put in couple of great tackles to deny West Hartlepool’s backs the opportunity to break out of their half.
It was, however, tremendous tackling by former skipper Tim Oakes that kept the whole of the West Hartlepool team at bay until the 37th minute, when a penalty for handling on the ground by Lymm allowed the visitors to draw level at 3 points all. This was the score at half-time and disappointingly so at full-time.
The second half was a scrappy affair, none of which could be blamed on the weather. The best move of the match for Lymm was on 44 minutes, when No. 8 Adam Bray made good ground, as he always does, swapping passes with flanker Jake Ashall and hooker Pete Allen to set up an opportunity for the Lymm’ backs to score, only to be thwarted in their efforts by a pass that was adjudged by the referee to have been passed forward. This passage of play reminded everybody of the potent threat that Lymm can pose on any team in the league. At the moment it is latent threat.
It was West Hartlepool who dominated play in the remainder of the second half. Their scrum-half, a hand-full to Lymm all game, was held up over the line on 54 minutes and held up 5 metres short of the line on 63 minutes, after a quick tap penalty he had taken. Lymm conceded another penalty in front of their posts on 72 minutes and were mightily relieved to see the kick pulled wide. West Hartlepool’s backs persisted in their attempts to break through or round Lymm’s defence, but Lymm managed to keep them out as they had done in the away match, this time marginally less frantically than before.
This was an evenly fought, if less than inspiring contest, but Lymm could not have complained if West Hartlepool had avenged their home defeat by slotting over the penalty kick that turned out to be the last kick of the match. It wasn’t an easy kick, but most people on the touchline were expecting it to sail through the posts. What further relief to Lymm when it didn’t !
The two points `earned’ by Lymm keeps them in a commendable 6th place in the league, but they must raise their game if they are to beat Sandal, away, next week. Sandal may be three places below them in the league but they will be formidable opponents on home soil. It was in this same fixture last year that Lymm pulled off an unexpected win that lifted them out of their perennial mid-season dip in form. It is a case of déjà vu. A win at Sandal will bring back much-needed confidence and set the team up for the remaining and more challenging games they will face this season.
Team: 15: Knowles ( c) 14: Barnes-Smith 13: Bray (T) 12; Ferguson 11: Johnstone 10: Emmitt 9: Baker 8 Bray (A) 7: Ashall 6: Oakes 5: Williams 4: Bennett 3: Widdrington 2: Allen 1: Ashton. Replacements: Connelly, Harrison, McEvoy.