Report – Lions fall to a disappointing defeat despite positive second half effort

26 April 2021

York City Knights got their first victory running in eleven tries against the Lions on their own patch with Matty Marsh scoring four of them.

Swinton Lions 16-64 York City Knights

Kieran Dixon who scored twenty-four points in the match scored the well created opening try after three minutes and in fact the conversion attempt was the only one he missed in the whole game.

This was quickly followed by a Ronan Dixon try under the posts created by Marsh and the conversion was added. Marsh then scored a try of his own when he wrong footed Geronimo Doyle to go under the posts with Dixon converting.

Ronan Dixon was leading from the front and he grabbed his second also scoring under the posts and taking two defenders with him and again the easy conversion was added. Marsh was making good things happen for the Knights and he broke through the Lions defence to feed the supporting loanee Connor Wynne who beat Doyle to score another converted try. There was a huge blow for the Lions when the playmaker Martyn Ridyard picked up a lower leg injury and had to hobble off the pitch never to return.

The Knights were playing some great attacking rugby in the sunshine and with ten minutes to go to the break, Danny Kirmond made a break down the right and drew in the Lions defence before handing the ball on to the supporting Marsh who raced away to claim his second with Dixon converting.

The Lions came out for the second half and made a very positive start when Jack Hansen unlocked the Knights defence to send the impressive Luis Roberts through a gap and he wrong footed Wynne to score by the posts and Hansen converted. The Knights hit back straight away with two more quick fire tries with Dean scoring the first after a good break and then Marsh completed his hat trick with Dixon converting both.

Will Hope was sent to the sin bin for a tip tackle on fifty-four minutes and from the penalty pressure Will Jubb sent a nice short kick to the Lions line and Ryan Atkins scored on the left. Just after the Atkins try the Lions were reduced to eleven men when Nick Gregson was sent to the sin bin for a shoulder on a Knights attacker and they scored again from the penalty when Dean went over by the posts.

The Lions had a good ten-minute spell in the final quarter and added two further tries when Mike Butt scored in the left corner and then Louis Brogan was sent through a gap by Hansen and he raced forty metres to score under the posts. Hansen converted this one but it was man of the moment Marsh who had the final word when he scored his fourth try in the dying seconds and Kieran Dixon added his tenth conversion of the afternoon.

Ian Rigg at Heywood Road

LIONS

22 Geronimo Doyle

1 Mike Butt

3 Mitch Cox

25 Luis Roberts

5 Sam Grant

6 Martyn Ridyard

7 Jack Hansen

8 Sam Brooks

9 Luke Waterworth

15 Louis Brogan

11 Rhodri Lloyd

12 Nick Gregson

13 Will Hope

Subs (all used)

39 Tom Spencer

16 Paddy Jones

38 Sam Luckley

24 Paul Nash

Tries: Roberts (41), Butt (70), Brogan (72)

Goals: Hansen 2/3

KNIGHTS

42 Connor Wynne

23 Ben Jones-Bishop

3 Liam Salter

4 Ryan Atkins

5 Kieran Dixon

1 Matty Marsh

29 Riley Dean

8 Ronan Dixon

9 Will Jubb

41 Yusuf Aydin

17 Danny Kirmond

39 Lewis Peachey

11 Chris Clarkson

Subs (all used)

28 Danny Washbrook

15 Jordan Baldwinson

16 Marcus Stock

13 Adam Cuthbertson

Tries: K.Dixon (3), R.Dixon (6,19), Marsh (15,30,52,80), Wynne (26), Dean (45,59), Atkins (56)

Goals: K.Dixon 10/11