Lymm bow out of Cheshire Cup

LYMM bowed out of the Cheshire cup losing out 31-22 to Caldy in the semi final.
They will be hoping to get back to winning ways when the league programme gets back underway on Saturday, with a home game against Beverley after three defeats.
They will take some confidence from this match in that they competed well up-front and scored four tries against a side that is in 6th place in National League 2.
It was a game that Lymm could have won, but can’t complain that they lost. A superb try by winger Matthew Barnes-Smith just before half time put Lymm into a winning position, but they were unable to capitalise on opportunities to close out the match in the second half. Conversely, Caldy capitalised fully on opportunities they created or were given by Lymm to deservedly secure their place in the Cheshire Cup Final.
Lymm put a marker down when winger Dave Williamson scored a try after only 2 minutes. He put pressure on his opposing winger, following a clever kick through by stand-off Andy Roberts and the ball popped up for him to dive over close to the posts. It should have secured a 7 point lead, but a strong cross wind restricted the lead to 5 – nil. On four other occasions in the first half when Lymm had the opportunity to clear their lines the pressure-relieving kick drifted straight into touch. This self-inflicted pressure meant that Caldy spent most of the first 40 minutes in Lymm’s half. A good tackle by full-back Joe Knowles kept Caldy out on 15 minutes, but persistent pressure resulted in Caldy scoring a try that was converted on 23 minutes to put them into a 7 – 5 point lead.
Depending upon your perspective it was either the illusive running of Caldy players or poor first-up tackling by Lymm that allowed Caldy to make ground on the few occasions that Lymm ventured into Caldy’s half. Lymm must improve their follow-up of kicks and mid-field defence if they are to win games in 2012. Inability to stop Caldy’s runners in their tracks was arguably the main reason why Lymm lost this game.
Teams in the league are well aware of Lymm’s ability to score tries in open play. This was ably demonstrated on 39 minutes when a quick tap penalty and slick inter-passing between backs and forwards released Barnes-Smith down the right wing. He showed great pace, power and a wonderful side-step to dance around the Caldy full-back from all of 45 metres out. Caldy knew they were in a game when the whistle blew for half time with them 7 – 10 points down, after dominating possession in the first half.
In the second half Lymm took on the mantle of another Dee-side team, Birkenhead Park, in scoring two push-over tries and resorting to driving mauls to gain ground. Pete Allen and Adam Bray were the forwards in possession when the collective skill of the Lymm pack engineered opportunities for them to drive over the line. Caldy could not stop the forward momentum, other than by resorting to tactics that saw one of their pack yellow-carded for coming in at the side of the driving maul.
It was disappointing that the referee did not see two Caldy players deny Lymm a try-scoring opportunity on 48 minutes by doing likewise. A lucky bounce from their pressure-relieving kick opened up an opportunity for them to go the length of the field to go ahead 14 points to 10. On 51 minutes, Caldy went the full length of the field again to opportunistically stretch the lead to 21 points to 10. This time it was indecision at an attacking line-out that let Caldy off the hook. Instead of the anticipated catch and drive and try to Lymm, Caldy were awarded a free kick for a delayed put in. To their credit they raced up the field to score. Their support play in attack was befitting of their place in a higher league than Lymm.
Ironically, on 60 minutes, an identical passage of play resulted in Pete Allen’s try. This time Lymm exercised more composure when they caught the ball at a five metre line-out to drive over the line. Matthew Barnes-Smith showed his all-round ability by converting the try –the only successful kick of the match from Lymm. The score narrowed to Caldy 21 – Lymm 17.
Caldy should have stretched their lead on 68 minutes. They had a four-on-one overlap, but the winger knocked-on as he was about to touch down. On 72 minutes, they did go further ahead, 26 points to 17, following forward pressure on Lymm’s line. Caldy strengthened their side to see out the match, but on 78 minutes they could not stop Adam Bray from scoring Lymm’s second push-over try to bring the score to 26 points to 22. Could Lymm snatch a win, as they have done in several matches this season ? The way they had played gave everyone belief that they could, but would they ?
Lymm tried hard to break out of their half, but Caldy held a high-defensive line and forced a knock-on by Lymm that led to the final score of the match, a cleverly executed
chip-over and collect try by the Caldy centre. Caldy supporters were pleased and somewhat relieved to see the final score of Caldy 31 – Lymm 22.
Lymm shuffled their team to give all squad players a run out. It was particularly pleasing to see former skipper Tim Oakes take the field after a long-standing injury. Competition for places is going to be fierce for next week’s league match against Beverley. This is, no doubt, the first of several `must-win’ matches for Lymm. Rumour has it that Beverley have strengthened their squad to lift them from the foot of the league. Lymm need to win to keep them in sight of the top.
Team: 15: Knowles 14: Barnes-Smith 13: Bray (T) 12; Bellis 11: Williamson 10: Roberts 9: Baker 8 Bray (A) 7: Ashall 6: Higginson 5: Williams 4: Bennett 3: Widdrington 2: Allen 1: Ashton. Replacements: Connelly, Ferguson, Oakes, Millachip, Millington, Walcott.