Match Reports
A defence, a defence, my kingdom for a defence.
Wednesday 16th November 2011
Lymm 32 Morley 20
MORLEY'S defensive frailties led to their eighth defeat in eleven matches as they remain in trouble just above the SSE National League Three North relegation zone.
The key to Morley's promotion two long years ago was a watertight defence, but so far this season they have conceded nearly 300 points.
The key to Morley's promotion two long years ago was a watertight defence, but so far this season they have conceded nearly 300 points.
Morley's defence, especially in the centre, was very brittle, and was breached with alarming ease, as Lymm claimed their bonus point for four tries as early as the 30th minute.
At this stage the Maroons looked to be in for a terrible thrashing but they managed to regroup and restricted Lymm to only one further try in the remaining 50 minutes of the match.
Morley suffered a blow before kick-off when David Hopton was injured in the warm up and could only come on as a substitute. However the Maroons were able to hand debuts to Nick Costello on the right wing and Cameron Curry in the pack, While Ross McIntosh made a first start at fly-half, having played on the wing against Altrincham Kersal.
The first five minutes were evenly matched with Morley kicking deep for territory and running up well to defend.
At this stage the Maroons looked to be in for a terrible thrashing but they managed to regroup and restricted Lymm to only one further try in the remaining 50 minutes of the match.
Morley suffered a blow before kick-off when David Hopton was injured in the warm up and could only come on as a substitute. However the Maroons were able to hand debuts to Nick Costello on the right wing and Cameron Curry in the pack, While Ross McIntosh made a first start at fly-half, having played on the wing against Altrincham Kersal.
The first five minutes were evenly matched with Morley kicking deep for territory and running up well to defend.
Following a quickly taken penalty, Lymm scythed through the defence and a well placed grubber kick from centre Dave Williamson forced Morley centre Charles Hough to concede a five mtere scrum.
A straightforward pick up and drive by powerful No.8 Adam Bray saw him drive over the line for the first of his two tries after seven minutes, Luke Emmitt, who had a poor day with the boot, managed to add the conversion from near the posts.
From the restart right wing Jack Johnstone slid through with embarrassing ease. A poor pass freom him looked to have saved Morley but somehow Matt Barnes-Smith on the other wing managed to evade his tacklers and went over near the touchline.
A straightforward pick up and drive by powerful No.8 Adam Bray saw him drive over the line for the first of his two tries after seven minutes, Luke Emmitt, who had a poor day with the boot, managed to add the conversion from near the posts.
From the restart right wing Jack Johnstone slid through with embarrassing ease. A poor pass freom him looked to have saved Morley but somehow Matt Barnes-Smith on the other wing managed to evade his tacklers and went over near the touchline.
It took good defence from Simon Bradshaw to shepherd another Lymm attack into touch but the home side were now running the ball through their backs at every opportunity.
When another attack broke down, Kenny Sewell saw an opportunity and released lock Sean Burke down the touchline. There won't be many faster locks the Burke at this level and he outpaced the defensive cover to score an excellent try. Bradshaw converted from the touchline to keep Morley in the game at 12-7 after 14 minutes.
Fortunately for Morley, Emmitt missed a simple penalty on 17 minutes but their next points were not long in coming.
When another attack broke down, Kenny Sewell saw an opportunity and released lock Sean Burke down the touchline. There won't be many faster locks the Burke at this level and he outpaced the defensive cover to score an excellent try. Bradshaw converted from the touchline to keep Morley in the game at 12-7 after 14 minutes.
Fortunately for Morley, Emmitt missed a simple penalty on 17 minutes but their next points were not long in coming.
Full back Joe Knowles burst through the Morley line to link with Williamson who sent Barnes-Smith in for his second try on 18 minutes.
Morley stuck to their task and Bradshaw kicked a difficult penalty when Lymm wondered in front of the kicker after the restart to bring the score to 17-10.
Undeterred, Lymm continued to attack down the centre, until they were tackled into touch near the Morley line. The throw in by Morley was gratefully accepted by Lymm, who scored through Bray, after several attacking phases to gain the bonus point for four tries. Again the conversion was missed.
Bradshaw had an excellent day with his place kicking and when Lymm went over the top at a ruck straight from the restart, he pulled back three more points for Morley.
Even better was to follow when a long kick was caught by him on his own 22. He ran towards his opposite number and cleverly chipped ahead. Catching the bouncing ball he fed Hough as he was tackled who ran the remaining 20 metres to score. Bradshaw again landed another excellent touchline convesion to pull Morley back to 22-20 after 35 minutes, despite the Maroons conceding four tries to two.
Morley could have gone into half time in the lead if a difficult pass had not just evaded Costello on the right wing. The second half was a different type of game. Lymm kept the ball much tighter and denied Morley much possession. They scored their final try when Morley were down to 14 men after Ben Bell had been carded for a technical offence.
Bray collected his second of the day on 43 minutes when he was on the end of several forward drives following a five metre scrum. Emmitt added the easy to conversion to make it 29-20. And it was he who had the final say in the game putting over a 22 metre penalty in the 76th minutes when Morley strayed offside.
Undeterred, Lymm continued to attack down the centre, until they were tackled into touch near the Morley line. The throw in by Morley was gratefully accepted by Lymm, who scored through Bray, after several attacking phases to gain the bonus point for four tries. Again the conversion was missed.
Bradshaw had an excellent day with his place kicking and when Lymm went over the top at a ruck straight from the restart, he pulled back three more points for Morley.
Even better was to follow when a long kick was caught by him on his own 22. He ran towards his opposite number and cleverly chipped ahead. Catching the bouncing ball he fed Hough as he was tackled who ran the remaining 20 metres to score. Bradshaw again landed another excellent touchline convesion to pull Morley back to 22-20 after 35 minutes, despite the Maroons conceding four tries to two.
Morley could have gone into half time in the lead if a difficult pass had not just evaded Costello on the right wing. The second half was a different type of game. Lymm kept the ball much tighter and denied Morley much possession. They scored their final try when Morley were down to 14 men after Ben Bell had been carded for a technical offence.
Bray collected his second of the day on 43 minutes when he was on the end of several forward drives following a five metre scrum. Emmitt added the easy to conversion to make it 29-20. And it was he who had the final say in the game putting over a 22 metre penalty in the 76th minutes when Morley strayed offside.