Lymm 49 v Fylde 14: match report by Simon Taylor
Fylde endured a rather torrid afternoon in Cheshire, and one of their heaviest defeats for some time, as Lymm put them to the sword, outscoring Fylde 6 tries to 2. Lymm’s fly half Tom Shard, the scourge of Fylde in last season’s encounter at the Woodlands when he knocked over a last minute drop goal to win the game, kicked 8 of his 9 shots at goal, his only miss at least meaning Fylde did not concede a half century, a solitary and minor crumb of comfort, on a day they will wish to move on from very quickly.
A sunny and dry day with little wind, and a 4G surface, provided both teams with ideal conditions to play in, and the early exchanges were tight and evenly contested, and not indicative of the way the game would eventually go. Fylde had moved their danger man Freddie Reader to full back to give him more space to operate, brought in Tom Forster at centre with Jordan Dorrington moving to the wing, and fielded a beefy back row, with skipper Toby Harrison, Dave Fairbrother and Mike Walton combining to form a powerful trio. Rob Williamson continued to fill in at hooker, after an impressive display the week before.
Fylde shaded the first 10 minutes and made the first meaningful excursion. Walton, who has started strongly since joining the club, made a powerful break midfield, rampaging up to the Lymm 22, only for the move to break down. Fylde continued to prod and probe, only to shoot themselves in the foot in the 12th minute. A miss pass on half way was picked off by Lymm full back Nathan Beesley, and he raced in unopposed, Shard converting to give Lymm a 7-0 lead.
The error was compounded by the kick off going out on the full and from the next play Lymm scrum half Cal Morris, one of the best number 9s in this division, made the first of his several breaks of the day, and Fylde were suddenly on the back foot. They snuffed out that attack, but in their next exit knocked on, and then conceded a penalty immediately, which was to become a repeated pattern, one error often compounded by another. Pressure told as Lymm hooker Rob Makin was smuggled over for the catch and drive try, converted again for a 14-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Fylde then had a decent spell, forcing penalties and territory. Unfortunately, whenever they kicked their penalties to touch near the Lymm line, they often let the home team off the hook with inaccuracy at the line out. They did, however, get on the scoreboard in the 27th minute when Ben Turner tidied up well, and Walton once again burst through the tackle on a lovely hard line, this time galloping in from 20 out to touch down. Fly half Patrick Bishop converted, and the deficit was halved to 14-7.
Lymm cranked into life again on the half hour mark with the try of the day. They won a line out in their own half and Cal Morris joined the back line on an arcing run slicing through the defence, before putting winger Patrick Jennings in the clear. Tom Shard nailed a lovely kick from the touchline, and it was 21-7, which soon became 27-7 as Shard knocked over penalties in the 35th and 37th minutes, punishing Fylde’s indiscretions in their own half.
Fylde were really under the cosh now, with captain Toby Harrison yellow carded and in the bin, but fierce and determined defence kept Lymm out just when it looked like they would have a try bonus point in the bag by half time.
Fylde started the second half in better fashion, an excellent midfield jackal turnover penalty won by Corey Bowker giving them the chance to kick deep. This time the line out was accurate with Matt Garrod setting up the catch and drive. Fylde showed better patience and looked like they had breached the home defence only for Walton to get the ball knocked loose just as he was about to score his second of the day.
More pressure for Fylde was once again undone as Lymm were let off the hook by a Fylde knock on, and once again, a penalty immediately conceded. Lymm’s defence was admittedly solid all day, but Fylde’s errors were repeatedly giving Lymm the chance to piggyback up the field.
On 52 minutes Lymm extended their lead further when their centre Pilkington chip kicked through, re-gathered and put Beesley in for his second try wide out, Shard couldn’t add the extras, his one failure from the tee, but it was now 32-7 and looking like damage limitation was the order of the day. That idea didn’t last long either, as more loose ball when in possession give Lymm the chance to hack through from halfway, replacement Isaac Millichip winning the race to touch down, Shard converting, 39-7 and still more than 20 minutes left.
Fylde again competed well for a period, Greg Morgan making a nice 30-yard break taking play deep into Lymm territory, only for Fylde’s attack to flounder in the face of solid defence. Fylde looked as if they were running out of ideas and confidence when they had the ball, as their attacking shape deserted them somewhat, with knock-ons and penalties continuing to plague them. Lymm, despite being so far ahead, chose to kick another penalty on 70 minutes to make it 42-7 and then breached the Fylde try line one more time in the 77th minute, Nicholas Rigby profiting from another Fylde error near their own line, as turnover ball was driven over. Shard converted and Lymm were 1 point shy of the half century mark at 49-7 up.
Fylde were able to grab the final score of the game when a nice pass from Ben Gould and a smart running line from winger Ben Turner saw the latter race in from 30 out. Bishop converted to make it 49-14 and with no time to re-start that was it. Even this last score came at a price, with Gould turning his ankle, and he was later off to hospital to get it x-rayed. With skipper Harrison picking up a dead leg as well it was all round a day to forget for Fylde.
Whilst the effort levels and spirit of the squad cannot be questioned, there is no doubt that this new look squad are going to have to go through some growing pains. With so many new faces, especially in key positions, and a new skipper, level 4 rugby is a tough environment to learn on your feet in. There were glimpses of what the squad can do, with Freddie Reader named Fylde’s player of the match by Lymm, Mike Walton showing up well, and the scrum looking much more solid. However, lack of accuracy to the levels evident in this game will be, and was, punished ruthlessly.
It was a chastening day for coaches Alex Loney, Chris Briers and their troops. Lymm fully deserved their third impressive win on the bounce, racking up the full 15 league points available in the process, and scoring 139 points in those 3 games, 2 of them away from home. In only their second season at this level, and after having taken 6 games to get their first win last season, Lymm this term are joint top with Leeds, and by my reckoning should be above them on points scored, given both have the same points difference.
The mood in the Lymm clubhouse was understandably buoyant, Fylde’s supporters on the other hand, will need to be patient and allow time for the re-vamped squad to be moulded by the coaches. With 3 away games in October Fylde will look to shake this defeat off quickly as they prepare to welcome Chester to the Woodlands next week. Both teams will be keen to get the win, having won 1 and lost 2 each so far.
Fylde: Reader, J. Dorrington, Forster, Stott (Atherton 53), Turner, Bishop, Gould, Harrison (Captain), Walton, Fairbrother, Morgan (Quinn 21), Garrod (Dorrington B. 54), Trippier (Altham 40/Tripper 62), Williamson, Bowker (Rudkin 53).
Lymm: Beesley (Simpson), Stride, Pilkington, Wadsworth, Jennings, Shard, Morris, Higginson, Hadland, Martin (Rigby), Maskery, Thompson (Millachip), Hand (Hunter), Makin (Pitcher), McEachran.
