Fylde 45 – 17 Lymm
1st Team Match Report | Saturday February 22 2025
Fylde’s Clinical Attack Downs Disrupted Lymm
Bright sunshine and a blue sky greeted a much-changed Lymm side at Fylde in this re-arranged clash of the 3rd and 4th placed teams in National League 2 North.
Lymm had won the reverse fixture earlier in the season 49-14. The fixture at Fylde last season had produced a memorable last minute drop goal from Tom Shard.
Lymm had 12 positional or personnel changes from last week’s loss to Otley, with the return of Gav Woods on the bench for the first time this season and Joe Senior returning to first team duty after 18 months following injury in place of Lymm captain Nathan Beesley on the right wing. There were also first appearances of the season for Sean Callender and Matt Hill. The much-changed team was further disrupted by an injury to Tom Shard after 20 minutes. We wish Tom a speedy recovery.
Fylde kicked off the game facing into the sun and into a slight breeze. The opening 10 minutes boded well for Lymm, with the game played in the Fylde half, the scrum showing significant superiority, winning two penalties in quick succession and parity at line outs.
Fylde had seen little of the ball, but after a loss of possession by Lymm in midfield, Fylde’s fullback jinked inside the Lymm defence to find a gap and run from his 22m line to score, with the kick successful, 7-0 after 10 minutes. The next 10 minutes followed a similar pattern, with Lymm dominating territory, but the team not quite clicking.
On twenty minutes, a collision in midfield saw Tom Shard injured and stretched off the pitch with a serious arm injury. Tom’s game knowledge and management has always been a strength for the team, and particularly so in the past two seasons in National 2. We hope to see him back soon.
The back line reorganised, with Alfie Simpson coming on to replace Tom.
Fylde were next to score, with a penalty on 25 minutes and this was quickly followed by another try as a bouncing ball from a Fylde clearance was gathered on the Lymm 10m line by the Fylde full back again to create a try that was not converted. 15-0 at 27 mins.
From the restart, Lymm resumed where they had been most of the game so far, camped around the Fylde 22m line. A yellow card for Fylde resulted in a penalty to Lymm. The kick unfortunately went wide of the mark. Minutes later, Lymm’s clever running lines and slick passing, so evident for much of the season, led to a try in the corner for the returning Joe Senior. The try was converted by Sam Wadsworth.
The rest of the half saw solid Lymm defence, albeit with Jack Stride being given a yellow card.
Half Time: Fylde 15 – 7 Lymm
Lymm had dominated territory, with perhaps 90% of the game in Fylde’s half of the pitch. But Fylde had shown that that their back row were strong runners, with effective offloading often breaking the Lymm defence. The Fylde debutant on-loan fly half and their full back had also shown their skills and speed. But Lymm were still in the game and may have thought that that the score should have been even closer going into the dressing room.
The second half kicked off with Gav Woods on the pitch for the team for the first time this season.
A line out to Lymm, lost in the Fylde 22, led to a breakout by Fylde through strong running and good handling. This was to be a pattern for the rest of the half. Two penalties in front of the Lymm posts in quick succession allowed Fylde to move to 21 points.
On 50 minutes, another breakaway try saw Fylde pull further ahead, 26-7. Not long after, a contested high ball fell to a Fylde player, in the right place at the right time, with a simple pass to the oncoming winger. The try was converted 33-7.
Lymm were not giving up and continued to both win ball and attack Fylde. One of the hallmarks of the Lymm team has been the positive response to setbacks and find ways to stay in the game. On 65mins strong running in midfield led to a pass to Sam Wadsworth who finished well. 33-12 on 65 mins.
The remainder of the game followed a similar pattern. Some good possession from Lymm, strong running from the Fylde back row and clever kicking and release of the Fylde wide players from the impressive Fylde 10. Two more tries to Fylde completed their scoring.
A final flurry, and that never give up Lymm attitude, saw Tom Manaton score in the corner, the last action of the game.
Full Time: Fylde 45 – 17 Lymm
The final score was almost a mirror image of the reverse fixture earlier in the season. The Lymm team battled well, but Fylde were clinical and exploited any opportunity that Lymm provided. Fylde had shown earlier in the season that they could score from distance and 4 of their tries on Saturday were breakouts. Tom Shard’s injury undoubtedly disrupted the Lymm team, at a time when Lymm were dominating territory if not possession.
Lymm have been through a tough period, but the team continues to be show determination and despite all the personnel and positional changes, glimpses of class that sees them ride high in the league. The positive team culture, undoubted natural ability and high-quality coaching will see this exciting young team bounce back soon.
Director of Rugby, Adam Fletcher reflected:
“Another tough day at the office. For 20 minutes we controlled possession and territory but couldn’t convert pressure to points. The injury to Tom Shard impacted us heavily, as we lost shape and structure. Fylde got their tails up in the 2nd half and dictated the game. They were good for the 5 points.”
“I’m hopeful that the team will get a much-needed boost of fit bodies next week. We will need them as we know the danger that Hull will pose.”
“Finally, a big thanks to both medical teams. It was very reassuring to see both teams work together to give Tom the best medical support possible. Tom is expected to undergo surgery at Preston hospital today (Monday) to fix his arm.”
Team: Dan Hunter (10); Rob Makin* (83); Joe Higgins (21); James Yates* (c) (129); Samir Tahraoui (18); Ethan Kermode (12); Sean Callender (14); Rhys Lilly* (68); Cal Morris (57); Tom Shard* (148); Joe Senior* (30); Toby Wilson (6); Jack Stride (25); Harry Reay* (3); Sam Wadsworth* (32).
Bench: Gav Woods (9); James Pitcher* (86); Matt Hill* (2); Tom Manaton (16); Alfie Simpson* (35).
Referee: Samuel Yates
Match Report: Paul Nolan