Lymm 3 Sheffield Tigers 26

LYMM fell to National League Three North table-toppers Sheffield Tigers on Saturday.

From the kick-off, Sheffield showed their intent and, with the help of a couple of soft penalties were soon playing the game inside the Lymm 22.

However, Lymm’s solid defence won out and it was they who had the first opportunity to put points on the board after eight minutes – but Cormac Nolan’s wide-out penalty attempt from 25 metres was narrowly off target.

Tigers eventually broke the deadlock on 17 minutes, from in front of the posts, to lead 0-3.

With the game being largely played between the 22s and no side really in charge, it always looked as if individual skill was likely to be the difference.

So it proved when, on 30 minutes, the Sheffield right-wing, Montgomery, having received the ball 30m out from a static backline seemingly going nowhere under pressure from the Lymm defence, kicked through cleverly using the heavy pitch to put the brakes on the ball just before the dead ball line.

His searing pace did the rest as he ‘surfed’ towards the ball to win the race to touch the ball down.

Unfortunately for Lymm, skipper Adam Bray left the referee with no alternative other than to give him a 10 minute rest for an infringement at a ruck on 43 minutes.

Sheffield immediately capitalised on this, slotting over the penalty to stretch their lead to 11 points.

However, on 45 minutes Nolan converted a penalty and two minutes later elected to have a 53-metre shot at the posts – perhaps as much to wind-down the clock in Bray’s absence as a belief that three points would follow.

They didn’t as the kick agonisingly fell a couple of inches on the wrong side of the crossbar.

A further Tigers penalty followed on 62 minutes, before the ball was quickly recycled and fly-half Ireland deftly cross kicked the ball straight into the arms of left-wing Packard, who ran in unopposed.

A final converted try for Sheffield on 68 minutes sealed the win.

Lymm visit local rivals Stockport on Saturday.

Lymm: Nick Ashton, Ross White, Mike Auden, Zak Lythgoe, Alex Kaihau, Ollie Higginson, Jack Harper, Adam Bray (c), Chris Owen, Ollie Lancaster, Cormac Nolan, Tom Bray, Giles Dugdale, Mark Wells, Richard Halford, Dan Horton, Aaron Rasheed, Rhys Jones.