Wirral 42 Lymm 26

ADAM Fletcher said he was pleased with the spirit shown by his much-changed Lymm side despite their exit from the Cheshire Vase.

With only five first-team regulars in the squad, many second-team players made the step up but a poor start in which they trailed 22-0 at half-time cost them.

Despite a much-improved second half in which they outscored their hosts, Lymm could not reel in the deficit.

Rhys Jones, Richard McEvoy, Richard Halford and Aaron Rasheed were on the scoresheet for the Crouchley Lane outfit after the break, but head coach Fletcher concedes the game was lost early on.

“We had always planned to rest some of our key players for this fixture, because the league is our main focus this season,” he said.

“You want the guys to compete for places and this is what we are building, but when the second-team players came in they initially were not ready for the tempo and physicality at this level.

“It took us 30minutes to get used to this level, but once we did we were already 27 points down in the second half.

“Credit to the boys though for the fight-back, it was a big step up for many of them but overall I am pleased with the spirit they showed.”

Despite trailing 27-0 early in the second half, Lymm started to fight back and quickfire tries from Jones and McEvoy brought them back into contention, with Tom Shard’s conversions reducing the gap to 14 points.

First, a series of sweeping moves led to Jones dotting down between the posts before another concerted attack led to McEvoy posting points with a similar effort.

A penalty and a further converted try earned Wirral more breathing space, but back came Lymm again as first Halford, then Rasheed breached the home defence.

Halford sprinted over on the left from 25 metres before he turned provider for cousin Rasheed, who backed up his break to move Lymm to within 11 points.

However, Wirral finished with a flourish to ensure they progressed to the next round.

Fletcher’s men return to league action on Saturday as they look to continue their perfect start to the Northern Premier season at Kendal, kick off 3pm.

Lymm: Mike Auden, Matt Hand, Jordan Widdrington, Rob Makin, Aaron Rasheed, Ben Rees, Jake Ashall, Andy Kerr; Tom Shard, Scott Redfern; Joe Denman, Rhys Jones, Richard Halford, Jack Worton, Richard McEvoy. Subs: James Lewis, Josh Davies, Lucas Titherington, Henry Baldwin, Joe Watson.

Fylde 2nd 31 Lymm 2nd 34

WITH many players promoted to the first team, knocking holders Fylde out of the Brooke Edgley Specialist Services Cup was a special achievement for Lymm’s seconds.

Tom Baker crossed for two tries as Peter Millachip’s side pulled off an impressive win, with Jake Davies converting two of their six tries.

Kieran O’Callaghan, Alex Hickman, Luke Richards and Toby Phillips also crossed for Lymm.

“This was a fantastic team effort for this young side against an experienced Fylde team,” Millachip said.

“The commitment and bravery in defence won this game, with every player stepping up to the mark.”

Lymm: K Broadbent, A Stewart, K O'Callaghan, J Yates, L Coates, R Riddell, J Harper, O Thornton; T Baker, T Phillips; R Forrest, L Richards, J Davies, J Reynolds, A Hickman. Subs: J Hamer, J Dowdeswell, J Pitcher.