Lymm held to draw by Billingham

A SECOND draw of the season meant Lymm dropped to third in the Northern Premier ahead of a three-week break from fixtures.

Adam Fletcher’s side held a 10-point lead at one stage of Saturday’s contest, but they were eventually indebted to Ali Sutherland’s late try to prevent them losing for just the second time this campaign.

Indeed, adding the conversion to Sutherland’s score would have taken them into a position of likely victory with four minutes remaining, but Cormac Nolan’s attempt sailed wide.

The stalemate allowed Hull to leapfrog the Crouchley Lane outfit in pursuit of leaders Preston Grasshoppers by virtue of a bonus-point victory over Pocklington.

Fletcher’s men started well and their pressure was rewarded when skipper Adam Bray drove over next to the posts, with Nolan adding the simple conversion.

Billingham were level just four minutes later through Tom Briggs’ converted try, but Nolan notched a penalty to nudge Lymm ahead once more.

With the home defence now under constant pressure, another five-metre scrum was conceded and Aaron Rasheed picked up to race over the line.

A Dan Finney penalty and Martin Hopley’s try before the break narrowed the gap to just two points at the break.

Finney then added another penalty after the interval to give the hosts the lead for the first time.

The game fluctuated from end-to-end, but it was Lymm who were given the next chance to score when Billingham were penalised 30 metres from the sticks and Nolan duly punished them with 11 minutes remaining.

That lead lasted just two minutes, however, when a close-range Billingham scrum ended with Elliot Husband crossing on the left, with Finney’s conversion giving them a five-point lead.

Lymm were not prepared to give up without a fight and put the hosts under pressure from the restart.

It eventually paid off when Sutherland drove over on the right, but Nolan’s attempt at adding the extra two points drifted agonisingly past the uprights.

Both sides pushed for a winning score to no avail as the teams settled for a share of the spoils.

Lymm return to action on Saturday, January 6, when Sandal make the trip to Crouchley Lane, kick off 2.15pm.

Lymm: Gav Woods, Adam Bray, Dan Horton, Aaron Rasheed, Matty Connelly, Joe Watson, Ali Sutherland, Sam Mullarkey; Andy Davies, Scott Redfern; Joe Denman, Tom Bray, James Kimber, Richard Halford, Cormac Nolan. Subs: Matty Hand, Ben Rees, Jake Ashall.