Lymm pay the penalty as Redruth run out convincing winners

Report by Andy Leach

LYMM suffered a disappointing 39-7 home defeat against National League Two leaders Redruth at Crouchley Lane, with a series of penalties and missed opportunities proving costly against the unbeaten Cornish visitors.

Redruth made the longest road trip in the National League Two divisions on Saturday, arriving in Cheshire in confident mood after an impressive start to the season.
The sides had met at Crouchley Lane in January, when Lymm edged a thrilling encounter 36-31 thanks to a late converted try. This time, however, the visitors had the upper hand, taking full advantage of Lymm’s indiscipline and making their opportunities count.
Lymm welcomed several players back into the squad, including Rhys Lilly, Tom Manaton, James Hampson and Harry Wadsell, while Matty Hand and Fin Williams also returned from injury. Rob Makin was back in action after being sidelined since January.
The match also marked a milestone for 21-year-old prop Ben Lilley, who made his 50th first-team league appearance for the club.

However, late withdrawals for Nathan Ovien and Jack Reynolds disrupted Lymm’s preparations ahead of the contest.
On a glorious October afternoon, Lymm made a positive start and quickly put Redruth under pressure. An early penalty offered captain Tom Shard the chance to open the scoring, but his kick drifted just wide.
Further penalties gave the hosts promising attacking positions deep inside the Redruth 22, but Lymm were unable to turn their pressure into points.
Redruth defended two rolling mauls before eventually clearing their lines, and Lymm’s failure to capitalise proved costly.
The visitors opened the scoring after 13 minutes when fly-half Joe Cummins found space to touch down following a scrum and a series of forward drives. His conversion was unsuccessful, leaving Redruth 5-0 ahead.
Lymm continued to struggle with the referee’s whistle, repeatedly conceding penalties that allowed the Cornish side to dictate field position.
There was a golden opportunity for the hosts when captain Shard produced an excellent cross-field kick for winger Joe Heaton, who collected cleanly and raced diagonally towards the posts. However, with the Redruth defence closing in, the chance slipped away as Heaton lost possession.
Redruth made Lymm pay in the 28th minute when hooker Tom Cowan-Dickie finished off a rolling maul, with Cummins adding the conversion to extend the lead to 12-0.
The visitors struck again shortly before half-time. After Cummins found touch with a superb penalty kick, Redruth secured the lineout and worked the ball through the backs, with centre Connor Gilbert breaking through the Lymm midfield defence to score near the posts. Cummins converted to give his side a commanding 19-0 half-time advantage.

Lymm needed a much-improved second-half performance, but their task became harder when flanker Jack Stride was shown a yellow card for a technical offence shortly after the restart. Cummins kicked the resulting penalty to make it 22-0.
Despite being down to 14 men, Lymm responded with their best spell of the afternoon and finally got on the scoreboard after 53 minutes.
A powerful rolling maul drove towards the Redruth line before James Pitcher emerged with the ball to score. Shard converted to reduce the deficit to 22-7 and give the home side renewed hope.
However, Redruth quickly reasserted their authority. A dominant scrum provided the platform for prop Finley Wolstencroft to force his way over, with Adam Hall adding the conversion to make it 29-7 after 62 minutes.
Lymm enjoyed plenty of possession and territory during the closing stages but could not find a way through a resolute Redruth defence.
Instead, the visitors added further gloss to the scoreline when Hall landed a long-range penalty before scrum-half Sam Bray intercepted a Lymm pass and raced 75 metres to score. Hall converted to complete a convincing 39-7 victory.
Despite the margin of defeat, Lymm director of rugby Andy Davies felt the scoreline was not a true reflection of the contest.
He said: “I don’t think the scoreline reflects how close the game actually was. We weren’t clinical enough in the first half, which allowed Redruth to control the tempo of the match.”
Davies also praised Lymm’s second XV, who travelled to Fylde with limited numbers and returned victorious from a league and cup double-header.
He added: “I just want to say a massive well done to the 2s, who went up to Fylde with the bare minimum and put on a great display to return victorious in their league and cup double-header.”
Lymm will look to bounce back when they host Hornets at Crouchley Lane on Saturday, October 31, with kick-off at 2.15pm.

Rhys Lilley in line-out action

Referee: Nathan Howarth.