LYMM’S final home game of the season ended in defeat as they went down 10-20 to play-off chasing Chester.
It was good to see Alex Bennett, `Bosh’, who suffered a neck injury playing for the club, in a position in his wheelchair on the touchline to watch the final home match of the season.
The spirit and determination that Bosh has shown on his personal road to recovery has been an inspiration to all those who have witnessed the progress that he has made in recent weeks. It appeared that his presence inspired Lymm to lift their level of performance against a useful Chester side, at least for the first 60 minutes.
Chester ran out worthy winners in the end, but for much of this match it looked as though Lymm were going to come out on top, albeit whatever happened on the pitch was never going to be of any real consequence in terms of their positions in the league and certainly not in comparison to the challenges that lie ahead for Bosh and these two teams when they almost inevitably renew their acquaintance in League 3 next year.
Chester still have a mathematical chance of gaining a play-off spot, following Beverley’s unexpected win away at Rossendale, but anyone who watched the first half of this match would have been forgiven for thinking that it was Lymm who were challenging for the top in this league. A blind-side break by Joe Knowles, who looked sharp all match, set up winger Matthew Barnes-Smith for a strong run into Chester’s 22, before putting in a deft little chip for opposite winger Jack Johnstone to gather to go over for a try. Luke Emmitt converted to give Lymm a 7 -0 lead after only 5 minutes.
If Chester needed any reminding that Lymm can defend as well as attack, it came after 10 minutes when Adam Bray put in a tremendous, bone-shaking, mid-field tackle that knocked back the first of a series of Chester attacks and set the tone for the remainder of the match. Brother, Tom Bray was enjoying the opportunity to utilise his attacking `back’ skills from the flanker position and was also prominent for his display of text-book tacking all over the park. It was his tackle, following a 5 metre scrum to Chester, that allowed Lymm to hold out to half-time 10 – 3 in the lead, the only two other scores of the first half being penalties to both sides.
Chester exerted persistent pressure on the Lymm line throughout the second half, but Lymm could have sealed victory in the first 20 minutes if only Tom Bray and Joe Knowles had been able to get passes out to Jack Johnstone, who would surely have scored a hat-trick of tries if the ball had gone to hand. There were at least three other `if onlys’ ! If only Lymm’s forwards had managed to get over the Chester line from several pick-and-drives from less than 5 metres out; if only penalty kicks to touch had found touch they would have had several more opportunities to try to do so, and if only Matthew-Barnes second chip had been a little more deft (or left !) , rather than go straight into the hands of the Chester winger, Lymm would have won !
David Williamson, recalled at outside centre, put in great try-saving tackle when he tracked the Chester winger down, but even his defensive skills were unable to keep Chester out in the final 20 minutes of the match. Lymm came under increasing pressure in the scrums, especially following a yellow card was given to prop Jordan Widdrington for alleged foul play. Chester also pinned Lymm them down in their 22 by making sure their penalty kicks to the corner found touch. Chester and their supporters sensed victory.
Chester scored one good try, well-executed by their backs, who skilfully took the opportunity to counter-attack from a kick-forward by Lymm to put their winger in at the corner (Lymm 10 – Chester 8). The next try after 68 mins was a perplexing one; Lymm had defended so well, but for one moment allowed the Chester No. 7 to run laterally across the park, only 10 metres, until he found a gap to exploit, right in front of `Bosh’. Bosh and everybody else on and off the park could not believe what they had seen. Not one person put a hand on him as he picked his way over the line to make it Lymm 10 – Chester 15 with 12 minutes to go. Losing `Widdy’ for 10 of these minutes didn’t help matters. Lymm gifted Chester their final try when, in desperation, a three-man miss-pass under their posts didn’t quite go to hand ! Chester scored, didn’t convert and closed out the game at Lymm 10 – Chester 20.
Chester must win their final match at home against table-topping Darlington MP and will hope that Waterloo beat Rossendale at Waterloo, to allow them to clinch the play-off spot. They would have hoped to score a try scoring bonus against Lymm and failure to do so might be critical in terms of where they play rugby nest season.
Lymm sit in 7th place in the league and are likely to remain so, but this will depend on results in the final games of the season next week. Lymm travel to Bradford & Bingley, who scored 59 points against Morley yesterday and have generally performed much better since Lymm beat them on their ground last season. Whatever the result, Lymm will be in National League 3 North next season. This is a commendable achievement for a club with limited resources, much of it attributable to one individual who was sitting on the sidelines yesterday. We all hope to see Bosh in good spirits and in good form on the touchline in late August and wish him all the best in the meantime.
Team: 15: Knowles 14: Barnes-Smith 13: Williamson 12; Ferguson 11: Johnstone 10: Emmitt 9: Kinsey 8:Bray (A) 7: Bray (T) 6: Connelly 5: Sutton 4: Higginson 3: Widdrington 2: Allen 1: Bates
Replacements: Ashton, Connelly, Walcott.
