Lydney storm to huge win
Report and Pictures by Roger Pike
Lydney 41 Cleve 0
Despite Storm Dennis being just 3 weeks ago and the Regentsholme ground and Clubhouse being under three feet of water, a huge refurbishment effort got the Clubhouse totally refurbished and the pitch playable so the pressure was on for the team to deliver and the Severnsiders did not disappoint. A bumper crowd turned out at Regentsholme to see Lydney put in a totally dominant performance against a team desperate for points to get out of the relegation scrap. This was a must win game for Lydney to continue with their promotion push and Severnsiders and with superb performances from outside half Olle Locke and full back Tony Wicks saw the hosts gain a workman like win.
The Severnsiders starting much the brighter and recapturing the ball from the kick off saw them dominate the opening encounters. Cleve soon gave away a penalty which Tony Wicks knocked over for 3 – 0 with just 3 minutes gone. Both sides started to make numerous errors but Lydney were managing the game much the better and were camped in the Cleve half, on 14 minutes another penalty from Wicks followed for 6 – 0. A nasty ankle injury to centre Joe McClean saw him depart and the Severnsiders struggled to regain their continuity. However keeping the pressure on through their dominant pack saw Cleve start to concede numerous penalties and a yellow card followed to reduce them to 14 for 10 minutes. The pressure soon told, on 20 minutes another collapsed scrum near the line gave the Official no option but to award a penalty try and the Severnsiders were 13 – 0 up. The hosts were handling the conditions much the better with Cleve only having a few visits to the Severnsiders half. On 26 minutes a lost line out from Cleeve gave the Severnsiders attacking ball and outside half Olle Locke cut through the backline to score in the corner, Wicks added a super conversion for 20 – 0. The Severnsiders were unlucky not to increase their lead with numerous chances being stopped by errors or some excellent Cleve defence. Right on half time a rampaging Ryan Watling run from the half way line saw him avoid all tackles to crash over, with Wicks adding the extras Lydney were out of sight at half time 27 – 0.
The second half was a continuation with the Lydney pack on top at scrum time dominating the opposition, some good driving runs from loose forwards Riley Scriven and Kurt Brown were always making good ground. Despite domination it took the Severnsiders until 66 minutes to add to their score when a penalty was kicked to the corner, from the resulting line out a good move with forwards and backs combining ended up with winger Mike Cross touching down in the corner. With his kicking boots definitely on Wicks kicked another touchline conversion for 34 – 0. Cleeve never gave up and were desperately trying for any score but rarely looked like crossing the whitewash with a well-managed Lydney defence. The Severnsiders were still controlling the game and making fewer mistakes, looking dangerous every time they had possession but it took until 79 minutes for a further score when Olle Locke broke clear for his second try right in the corner which Wicks again converted for a final score of 41 – 0.
Coach Lee Fortey commented ‘really delighted, with a 3 week gap we were a bit rusty and badly needed this game. It was a good workman like performance and we showed patience to basically just grind out a good win. I thought we managed the game much the better and were never really under any pressure especially in our own half. It was a good run out we badly needed and some excellent decision making kept us playing the game in the opposition half which is where you need to be. I am sure the crowd have been well entertained, we travel to Chew Valley next which will be a stern test and a key game for the promotion positions’
