Swinton Lions faced defeat in a tense, rain-soaked encounter that saw both sides reduced to twelve men with Rochdale Hornets claiming the bragging rights in a fierce contest.
The afternoon started in disastrous fashion for the Lions as captain Mitch Cox was forced off in the opening minute following a heavy tackle.
And the Lions issues continued to grow, as just minutes later when Reece Briers was on the receiving end of a late hit, though the resulting penalty gave the visitors their first sniff of the line – only for Louie Roberts’ kick to roll dead.
The Hornets then applied some pressure of their own, with Cian Tyrer going close on the left flank and Lewis Else fumbling in the Lions 20-metre area.
And the sides persistence soon paid off in the 13th minute, when Elijah Simpson powered over from close range after Emerson Whittle was held short – and the lead was extended when Max Flanagan added the extras to make it 6-0.
But Swinton Lions hit back five minutes later through Ellis Anderson, who finished off a slick move in the corner after a neat assist from Gav Rodden. Briers nailed the touchline conversion to level the scores.
Handling errors plagued both sides as the half wore on, with Tyrer knocking on near the try line and tensions began boiling over shortly after with Aaron Lynch being sent to the sin bin for a late shot on Grag McNally on 32 minutes, and Hornets’ Deane Meadows followed him a minute later for a late challenge on Roberts.
Flanagan had a chance to restore the Hornets’ lead with a penalty from 30 meters out but pushed his effort wide – but it was the Lions who ended the half in-front, as Briers coolly slotted a drop goal – deflected off a Hornets defender – to send his side into the break 7-6 ahead.
The Lions came out with intent in the second-half, forcing two early goal line dropouts, but again struggled to capitalise, but The Hornets also had their chances, with Dom Newton spilling the ball under pressure and later being ankle-tapped just short of the line.
With failed head injury assessments mounting, Hornets introduced eighteenth man Morgan Punchard on 51 minutes, but moments later were reduced to twelve when Jayden Deyes was shown a red card for a high tackle on Frank Sergent.
And despite the man advantage Swinton opted to run the penalty in front of the posts and paid the price, turning over possession on the first play, and the Hornets made them pay, with Punchard cooly slotting a penalty to edge his side 8-7 ahead.
The Lions dominated territory in the closing stages, but a series of handling errors and determined scramble defence from Hornets kept them at bay. A late penalty chance for Hornets was tapped rather than kicked, as they looked to kill the clock and win the game clinging on for the victory.
This match report was supplied by Ian Rigg, and to find more about the Swinton Lions check here.
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