Lymm 26 Cinderford 30
Will Day’s 74th-minute try secured a hard-earned victory for Cinderford at Crouchley Lane, as the visitors recovered from a second-half Lymm comeback to win 30–26.
Day’s decisive score, converted by Joe Winfield, settled a contest in which Cinderford had to work hard defensively and make the most of their attacking opportunities. Winfield contributed 15 points, converting all three of his side’s tries and adding three penalties.
Cinderford opened the scoring through a ninth-minute Winfield penalty, but Lymm responded when Rhys Lilly crossed after 18 minutes. Thomas Shard’s conversion put the hosts 7–3 ahead.
With Lymm enjoying much of the first-half possession, Cinderford’s defensive organisation helped keep the deficit to four points. The visitors then struck shortly before the interval, Callum McCabe scoring in the 38th minute and Winfield converting to establish a 10–7 half-time advantage.
Cinderford made a productive start to the second half. Andrew Smyth crossed three minutes after the restart and Winfield’s conversion stretched the lead to 17–7.
Lymm answered through James Pitcher’s 47th-minute try. The conversion was missed, and Winfield’s second penalty of the afternoon restored an eight-point cushion at 20–12.
The hosts continued to press. Jack Reynolds scored in the 57th minute, with Shard converting to bring Lymm within a point. Another Winfield penalty made it 23–19, but Lilly’s second try, followed by Shard’s third successful conversion, turned the contest in the home side’s favour at 26–23.
Cinderford still had a decisive response. Replacement Day crossed in the 74th minute to reclaim the lead, and Winfield added the conversion to complete the scoring. The visitors held their advantage through the closing stages to secure the win.
Cinderford now prepare to host Hinckley at Bell Sports & Rugby Park on Saturday 21 November, kick-off 3pm.
Reflecting on the victory, Clive said:
“Incredibly proud of everyone involved; players, coaching group, medical team, support staff and all those that invest so much time and effort into what we are doing, including the supporters.
“Lymm are a very well drilled team and we needed to be well connected in defence from the start to the final whistle to limit their chances.
“In the first half we were guilty of not keeping the ball enough. Consequently, we had limited attacking sets and spent a large part of the half without the ball. However, we took our chances off the back of some committed defensive sets and some impressive individual moments.
“The most pleasing aspect today was how we stayed composed when going behind with a few minutes to go and how we trusted our attack under immense pressure to score what was the winning try.
“We are under no illusions about how good Hinckley are playing and the type of threat they will pose next weekend.”