VITAL VICTORY AFTER TENSE ENCOUNTER!

07 August 2023

 SWINTON LIONS 18 KEIGHLEY COUGARS 10

 IAN RIGG at Heywood Road, Sunday 6 August

Swinton clinched an important league-double in a pulsating game against Keighley Cougars. The Lions took the lead in the second minute when Dan Abram converted a penalty for an off the ball hit on Robbie Butterworth, but Cougars tried to hit back but they knocked on in the Lions’ ten and the chance went. Matty Foster then stretched the Lions’ lead on thirteen minutes when Butterworth and George Roby combined to send him over on the left and Abram converted. Charlie Graham thought he was going to score for Cougars with a run down the left wing but a great tackle by Jayden Hatton sent him to touch. Cougars had another good chance when Robbie Storey went for the left corner but another good tackle by Hatton forced him to lose the ball. They did finally get over the line when Brad Walker kicked towards the line, and it bounced up nicely for Lewis Young to collect and score under the posts with Oscar Thomas adding the conversion. There was a talking pint over the score as Kenny Baker had arguably been accidentally blocked by the referee.

Cougars started the second half on the attack and a kick towards the line was fielded by Abram, but hit was hit slightly high by Young, and he was sent to the sin bin after a consultation by the officials. Walker threw away a good chance on forty-six minutes when he lost the ball near the Lions line and then Junior Sa’u was grounded just short. Both sides were trading chances, but the final pass was going to ground, and it was the Lions who went further ahead when the Impressive Abram shot through a gap to score on the right near the corner, but he could not add the conversion. Cougars hit back again on sixty-eight minutes when Ellis Robson forced his way over from short range but the conversion from Thomas hit the post and bounced out. The Lions were coming strong again and with nine minutes left Jordy Gibson put a kick for the line, but it just ran away from Mike Butt as he tried to ground it. Thomas Doyle then tried to get over for Cougars but his kick over the goal line was too strong. It was getting very tense in the closing minutes, but with three minutes left the Lions won a scrum thirty metres out in centre field and on loanee Butterworth took the pass from Gibson to sidestep the Cougars defence and raced away to score under the posts with Abram converting to all but secure the victory for his side. Cougars got the ball back from the kick off and again put late pressure on the line, but Mo Agoro could not control the final pass and the hooter went just seconds afterwards.

LIONS

1 Dan Abram

2 Mike Butt

11 Rhodri Lloyd

3 Jake Spedding

4 Jayden Hatton

32 Robbie Butterworth

7 Jordy Gibson

8 Gav Bennion

30 George Roby

35 Lewis Hall

34 Matty Foster

12 Mitch Cox

6 Nick Gregson

Subs (all used)

31 Cain Robb

25 Scott Parnaby

10 Kenny Baker

17 Dane Windrow

Tries: Foster (13), Abram (59), Butterworth (77)

Goals: Abram ¾

COUGARS

1 Lewis Young

3 Charlie Graham

42 Junior Sa’u

23 Robbie Storey

5 Mo Agoro

46 Oscar Thomas

20 Brad Walker

24 Mark Ioane

26 Thomas Doyle

11 Kyle Trout

19 Ellis Robson

27 Sadiq Adebyi

13 Kyle Kesik

Subs (all used)

21 Lloyd Roby

8 Dan Parker

32 Jack Bibby

45 Tom Nicholson-Watton

Tries: Young (35), Robson (28)

Goals: Thomas 1/2

Sinbin: Young (42) High Tackle

Penalty count: 6-3

Half-time: 8-6

Referee: Nick Bennett

Attendance: 1179