Lymm 28, Blaydon 34

🔴⚫️ Match Report 🔴⚫️

Saturday 15th February 2020

LYMM 28 BLAYDON 34

Both teams emerged into a howling gale and driving rain which continued throughout the game.
With the benefit of the wind advantage Blaydon kicked off , Freddie Lockwood gathered, gained ground, and passed to Elliot Beattie who scored in the corner in the 1st minute. Ably converted by Ryan Foreman, who then followed up with two long range penalties, Blaydon led, rather against the run of play, 0-13 after 25 minutes. Lymm pressure finally told and before the half was over poor defending and a little good fortune with ball bounces, allowed them two tries by Pilkington and Kimber, both converted by McCormack. At 14-13 down at half time Blaydon were looking at a struggling second half into the gale against an increasingly dominant Lymm. This was quickly exacerbated by yellow cards to fly half Carey and centre McMillan within five minutes of each other, and immediately followed by an injury to Captain Jack Davidson which saw him leaving the field. Two further Lymm penalties and an unconverted try by full back Nolan gave Lymm an apparently unassailable lead of 25-13 as the game entered the last ten minutes. However with Blaydon back to full strength a series of drives on the Lymm try line allowed prop David Lyall to score an unconverted try , which was then rather unluckily followed by a Lymm penalty. 28-20. Into the last 5 minutes and despite the elements, an increasingly determined Blaydon then repeated their driving forward efforts resulting in a converted try under the posts by the impressive Freddie Lockwood.
Could Blaydon come back again with the clock running down on the last play of the day ?. Gathering the kick off in their own half the forwards individually slowly drove their way upfield to the Lymm line after 37 passages of play and no handling errors which finally enabled Elliot Beattie to score under the posts from close range much to all Blaydon supporters and players delight. Converted by Ryan Foreman the score ended 28-34 and 5 points to take Blaydon to the top of the Northern Premier League table
This was a truly remarkable victory and credit to the whole squad who believed in their ability to turn things round right to the very end.

Bill Locke