Report by Dave Fernyhough
LYMM returned to winning ways with a hard earned 3-10 victory at a wintery Ilkley.
A dusting of snow on the infamous Ilkley Moor, and a fierce wind sweeping straight down off it, was all the evidence needed that this game would be won by the team who best adapted to the conditions.
In new scrum half, Andy Davis, Lymm had a clear advantage. He cleverly moved his team around the field with the minimum of fuss, and consistently used his kicking game to keep Lymm on the front foot.
Ilkley started brightly, despite playing into the freezing wind. Early attacks showed the threat offered by their full back, Magee. Even over the recent below par performances Lymm have shown they can defend well, and the homeside could not benefit from their early possession.
Their line out in particular was being hampered by the wind, undoing good field position on a number of occasions.
Lymm eventually found their feet (a slow start possibly influenced by their delayed arrival at the ground) and Davis was able to pin Ilkley in their own half with his intelligent kicks. Firstly finding touch 5 metres from the try line, and secondly kicking cross field for the veteran Dave Williamson to collect and almost set Rich McEvoy free. His pass unfortunately drifted forward.
Soon after McEvoy made yards again, hitting a good line off Tom Brays clever pass. McEvoys pass however could only find a defender. Ilkley could not use the ball to any effect and Lymm soon got it back. A penalty from 35m was their reward, and Cormac Nolan converted to give Lymm a 0 v 3 lead.
Ilkley were picking up injuries rather frequently, including a very nasty looking lower leg injury, which could not have helped their cause. They continued to pressure Lymm, and responded to going behind by staging a succession of attacks in the Lymm red zone.
Again Lymm’ s defence held firm, and although a driving maul by the Yorkshiremen crossed the line it was held up and Ilkley were still not able to find any points.
Half time saw just the penalty separating the two teams, and concerns were raised about whether Lymm had done enough with the wind behind them.
All the spectators rushed for the warmth of the club house at the interval where they were entertained by seven foot tall clown whose ability to simultaneously juggle 2 spider monkeys, a flaming torch and Adam Fletcher’s wallet was truly remarkable. The appearance of a perturbed RSPCA officer brought the show to a sudden end and it was time to go back into the cold and watch the rugby.
The wind had dropped slightly but was still a huge influence on the game. The early exchanges were confined to a series of rather poor kicks by both sides. An Ikley knock on gave Lymm good field position, and after a number of efforts almost crossing the line, Adam Bray was able to spot a gap at the side of a ruck and dived over to score. Nolan again converted, and Lymm went 10 v 0 ahead.
Both sides began to be obviously struggling in the conditions. Ilkley fought to make their possession count for something but repeatedly knocked on, or lost the ball on their line outs.
Davis lead the visitors well, but scoring opportunities were few and far between. Jake Ashall and McEvoy made a promising break and Lymm looked to have created an overlap on their left edge. They were unable to exploit this and Ilkley cleared their lines.
Mike Auden crossed the line after a sustained Lymm assault, but the ball was lost before he could put it down.
Ilkley would soon get their reward for sticking to the task, when a high tackle near the half way line gave them a chance to get points on the board. An excellent kick for goal was good, and the score went to 3 v 10.
The home side were energised by this, and began to have more threat in their attack. More penalties followed, one of which was just wide of the posts and another was kicked to the corner for a line out 5 metres out. Ilkley were perfectly positioned to possible get an equalizing score, but again their line out lacked precision and they had to retreat before they could attack. They worked this attack well though, but Lymm defensive resolve remained firm.
A long period of injury time saw no change in the score, and in the failing light Lymm celebrated a deserved but tough win.
The warmth of the Ilkley welcome and the efforts of both teams were the equal of the weather, and Lymm moved into a more comfortable mid table standing.
TEAM. Dan Horton , Ross White , Jordan Widderington , Alex Kahui , Mike Auden , Jake Ashall , Joe Watson , Adam Bray , Andy Davies , Tom Bray , Cormac Nolan , Ollie Higginson , Richard McEvoy , Dave Williamson , Joe Denman
SUBS James Yates , Tom Shard , Will Titherington
