Lymm 49 Fylde RFC 14: A difficult day on the road
Fylde endured a rather torrid afternoon in Cheshire – and one of their heaviest defeats for some time – as they were outscored by six tries to two on Saturday.
Lymm’s Tom Shard, the scourge of Fylde at the Woodlands last season, also kicked eight of nine shots at goal.
The early exchanges were tight and evenly-contested with no indication of the way the game would eventually go.
Fylde shaded the first 10 minutes, Mike Walton making a powerful break up to the Lymm 22 before the move broke down.
They continued to prod and probe, only to shoot themselves in the foot in the 12th minute when Lymm full-back Nathan Beesley picked off a pass on halfway.
He raced in unopposed with Shard converting to give Lymm a 7-0 lead, after which the restart went out on the full.
From the next play, Lymm scrum-half Cal Morris made the first of several breaks and Fylde were suddenly on the back foot.
They snuffed out that attack but, in their next exit, knocked on and then immediately conceded a penalty.
Pressure told as Lymm hooker Rob Makin was smuggled over for a catch-and-drive try, converted again for a 14-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Fylde then had a decent spell, getting on the scoreboard in the 27th minute when Ben Turner tidied up well and Walton burst through the tackle to score.
Patrick Bishop converted, making the score 14-7, before Lymm recorded the try of the day on the half-hour.
Winning a lineout in their own half, Lymm saw Morris join the backline with a run that sliced through the defence before Patrick Jennings was put in the clear.
Shard converted from the touchline before two penalties made it 27-7 with Fylde captain Toby Harrison in the sinbin.
However, fierce and determined defence kept out Lymm as it looked like they would have a try bonus point by half-time.
Fylde started the second half in better fashion and looked like they had breached the home defence, only for the ball to be knocked loose as Walton was about to score again.
Lymm extended their lead further on 52 minutes, Ste Pilkington chipping through and regathering before putting in Beesley for his second try.
Trailing 32-7, damage limitation looked the order of the day but another loose ball allowed Lymm to kick through with Isaac Millichip touching down and Shard converting.
Fylde again competed well for a period, Greg Morgan making a nice break before the attack floundered in the face of solid defence.
A penalty put Lymm 42-7 ahead before Nicholas Rigby touched down on 77 minutes, Shard again converting.
However, Fylde grabbed the final score when a nice pass from Ben Gould and a smart running line from Turner saw the latter score and Bishop convert.
Even that score came at a price as Gould turned his ankle, meaning a trip to hospital for an X-ray, and with Harrison also picking up a dead leg, it was a day to forget for Fylde.
Lymm: Beesley (Simpson), Stride, Pilkington, Wadsworth, Jennings, Shard, Morris, Higginson, Hadland, Martin (Rigby), Maskery, Thompson (Millichip), Hand (Hunter), Makin (Pitcher), McEachran.
Fylde RFC: Reader, J Dorrington, Forster, Stott (Atherton), Turner, Bishop, Gould, Harrison, Walton, Fairbrother, Morgan (Quinn 21), Garrod (B Dorrington), Trippier (Altham, Tripper), Williamson, Bowker (Rudkin).