Billingham 26 Lymm 10

IN what was billed as one of the toughest opening games Lymm could have been given, they succumbed to a powerful Billingham outfit on Saturday.

Adam Fletcher’s side were kept off the scoresheet in the first half and were kept at arm’s length by their hosts after the break despite a spirited effort.

Billingham built early pressure on the visitors who struggled to clear their lines, and the dam was breached when Dan Dixon galloped through for an unconverted try.

They stretched their lead with a penalty after Lymm were caught offside, which came after the visitors had started to put some positive phases together.

Then, just as they were building up a head of steam, an attacking lineout was stolen and Billingham went the length of the field for another try.

That completed the first-half scoring, but the Crouchley Lane side were fast out of the traps after the break as some slick play led to Cormac Nolan scoring.

Billingham kicked another penalty before Jake Maher was released by Nolan to score and reduce the deficit to six points.

However, another lost lineout saw the hosts score again before a late try earned them a bonus point.

Fletcher's side host Rossendale on Saturday.

Lymm: Gav Woods, Rob Makin, Matty Hand, Matty Connelly, Aaron Rashid, Sam Mullarkey, Adam Bray, Ollie Higginson; Andy Davies, Tom Bray; Joe Denman, James Kimber, Jake Maher, Ali Sutherland, Cormac Nolan. Subs: Dan Horton, Joe Watson.

Lymm 2nd 29 Macclesfield 2nd 5

A BRACE of tries from Joe Murphy capped an excellent second-half display by Lymm’s seconds on Saturday.

They posted 22 points without reply to beat their Macclesfield counterparts at Crouchley Lane, with Richard Halford also crossing the whitewash after the break.

Rhys Jones, who also kicked three conversions and a penalty, got Lymm’s first-half try.

Lymm squad: J Davies, J Reynolds, J Davies, R McEvoy, R Forrest, R Jones, H Simpson, J Ashall, R Lilley, O Thornton, W Baldwin, H Baldwin, N Aston, J Harper, J Widdrington, J Murphy, J Porteus, R Halford.