Swinton Lions have seen an early exit from the 1895 Cup after a defeat to Rochdale Hornets losing 18-16.
Rochdale’s hard-fought victory saw them advance in the competition where they will face Oldham in the next round.
There was nothing between the two sides in the opening action, but Hornets did have more possession of the ball, yet the Lions defence stood strong.
The first chance the Lions had was during the seventh minute when Reece Briers put in a floated kick, but Greg McNally did not control it.
Swinton had a chance down the left, but the final pass floated into touch, allowing the Hornets to progress, and take the lead in 14 minutes.
Luke Nelmes crashed over the posts from short range, and Max Flanagan converted.
Things could have worsened for the Lions as Rochdale were awarded a penalty in a kickable position 20 minutes in for a shoulder charge in the tackle but chose to play it and eventually lost the ball in the final ten.
However, the Swinton Lions drew level when Briers put out a perfect pass for Aaron Lynch to score on the left, yet in the build up to the try, Briers was taken out, and then Dan Abram converted.
The Lions were now having the better of the ball, pushing them further ahead eight minutes from the break, when a good passing movement saw Ellis Anderson dive over in the left corner, but Briers did not convert off the touchline.
Four minutes into the second half, the Hornets found themselves back in the lead after a great pass from McNally, and Duane Straughier went in by the posts with Flanagan adding the simple conversion.
They went further ahead once again four minutes later, when this time Straugheir managed to break through the defence on the right side of the field, passing the ball to Ben Will.
Will then crossed the ball into the corner of the field, likely aiming for a try. However, Flanagan was unable to find luck on the touchline.
An Abram kick forced a knock on in the Hornets twenty, but from the pressure on the line from Sergent, another great chance was given.
And the scores were level during the 61st minute, when Abram took a short pass to dart over on the right and added the conversion to score his 600th point in a Lions shirt.
However, the level scores didn’t last long as the Hornets took the lead again, four minutes later, when the Lions were offside in front of their own posts, and Flanagan converted the penalty.
The Hornets then got a penalty again in front of the posts with six minutes left but chose to play instead of taking the kick – but the Lions defence remained strong.
Swinton Lions came strong in the final minutes, and they were camped on the Hornets line but had a great chance.
Ant Walker, however, lost control of the ball in the final ten, and his side then gave away a penalty for back chat in the Hornets twenty.
Paul Wood expressed praise for the Lions after their cup defeat and look forward to the league starting on February 23 against Whitehaven in the Betfred League One.
And he will be hoping that his side can start the campaign in winning ways – more information on the fixtures can be found here.
Recent Comments