Knutsford power off as Lymm crank up the voltage

Knutsford 2nds entertained local rivals Lymm on a sunny but brisk day at Egerton on Saturday, with a fantastic home support to cheer them along.

With the home side enjoying mixed results and Lymm topping the table, Knutsford knew they were in for a tough afternoon.  Despite this, Knutsford felt they could make a contest of the game with a number of experienced campaigners including the marauding Owen, a rampant Ritchie the returning Fishburn, mixed in with the youthful vigour of the likes of Johnson and Crawford.

Lymm kicked the game off with the down slope to their advantage, and quickly established a lead after a fortuitous bounce allowed the Lymm forward to squeeze over the line for a try which was duly converted. This kicked Knutsford into gear, and straight from the restart they reacted. With the evergreen Ritchie driving the forwards on, Knutsford pressured Lymm on their 22 and they were awarded with a penalty for an infringement at the breakdown. Crawford stepped up and spilt the posts for 3 points to reduce the score to 4 points of a difference.

Lymm came back at Knutsford, and once again the home side switched off. Lymm’s second try came after some lax defending in the Knutsford back line, and their third came when after a period of sustained pressure they were awarded a penalty. The home side retreated, but assuming the opposition would settle for the three points, they did not cover the opposition in defence. Lymm quickly shifted the ball out the line, allowing their backline to take advantage of their numbers and canter over the line for another converted try.

The half drew to a close with Knutsford finally getting their game together and producing some sterling defensive work to maintain the scoreline.

Half Time Knutsford 3 Lymm 22

Knutsford took their positive play from the end of the first period into the second and dominated the game, with the vast majority of the half being played in the oppositions territory. With a solid scrum fronted by Barrie, Owen and Sage, the backline were allowed their opportunities to show what they could do. Debutant Catterling showed great promise on one wing, with young Sam Hergson showing fantastic potential on the other and Johnson demonstrating great versatility playing out a solid half in the centre.

Knutsfords dominance continued, but with their lineout just not functioning on the day, and some terrific defensive work from the Lymm team, they could not convert their pressure into points.

The dying minutes saw more pressure from the home team, and continued infringements from Lymm. Carries from Baxter, Fishburn, Barrie and Owen saw Knutsford 5 metres short of the line when Lymm put in yet another high tackle. Despite their being attacking advantage the referee gave Knutsford a penalty. Maxwell fed Lloyd-Jones who was duly held up over the line and Knutsford were left empty handed as the final whistle went.

Full Time Knutsford 3 Lymm 22

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