LIONS DOWN TOWN TO CLAIM VICTORY

SWINTON LIONS 24

WORKINGTON TOWN 14

IAN RIGG Heywood Road, Sunday

Two tries by the Lions in the last fourteen minutes secured a dramatic win against a well drilled Town side who looked to have had the points in the bag. Both sides made errors with their opening losing the ball. Town forced an early goal line drop out but couldn’t do anything with the ball. The Lions then forced a goal line drop out on eleven minutes and this resulted in the opening score when Jack Stevens put in a nice kick towards the goal lines and it bounced up nicely for Kenny Baker to collect and touchdown under the posts with Will Roberts converting from in front. Town were forced into another goal line drop out but went short with it and knocking on giving the ball back to the Lions, but the defence was good. Baker almost had a second on twenty-three minutes but couldn’t hold a short pass from Adam Sidlow. Dave Eccleston found himself in space chasing a long kick from Dom Wear, but Lions fullback Louie Roberts got there first to stop the danger. A fantastic move between Stevens and Gav Rodden almost produced a try on twenty-five minutes but the Town defence scrambled well. Town hit back seven minutes from the break when a long pass to the left found Eccleston and he crossed in the corner with Jake Carter converting from the touchline. Carter sent Town in with a slender lead at the break when he kicked a penalty for backchat.

Town went further ahead five minutes into the second half when the Lions were on the attack deep in the Town half and a ball went to ground and Zarrin Galea collected it and raced ninety metre to score with Louie Roberts and Frank Sergent in hot pursuit, but they couldn’t catch him, and Carter kicked the simple conversion. Town then had a purple patch spending time on the Lions line, but the defence was excellent. All that pressure for nothing as it was the Lions who struck on sixty-two minutes when Stevens offloaded to Will Roberts, and he crossed under the posts and added the conversion to put his side two points behind. Town were penalised in their own half for a high shot on Sergent and from the penalty more pressure on the line which produced a try for Jordan Paga who sold a nice dummy on the left to cross, and Will Roberts again converted. During the celebrations there was a case of handbags behind the line, and this was placed on report. This now set up a grandstand finish a four-point lead for the Lions and the clock ticking down but it was made all safe when Baker ran onto a short pass to crash in by the posts and Will Roberts again converted and there was no time for the restart as the hooter sounded as they ran back for the kick-off.

MATCHFACTS

LIONS

1 Louie Roberts

25 Frank Sergent

2 Ellis Anderson

22 Aaron Lynch

30 Ethan Fitzgerald

6 Jack Stevens

31 Will Roberts

33 Alfie Sinclair

9 George Roby

20 Jamie Reddecliff