Leith start round 2 with a win

Leith travelled to Inch park for the 2nd time in November as the 2nd half to the league season got underway. Leith were looking to continue the good form which they had found in the League in the first half of the season but were wary of a Lismore side who were fighting for their lives in division 2.

The game started with Leith on top, however they were struggling to make it count with handling errors letting the side down in key areas. However Leith finally made the breakthrough after around the 15 minute mark. After a good break from stand off Doug Watters up the right hand side of the pitch, Leith were able to recycle the ball quickly, early substitute Craig Smith combined with Craig Winton and back again to go over for Leith’s first try of the game. Kenny Dannfald added the extras. It didn’t take Leith long to add a 2nd score of the day, again after some quick play and recycling allowed Craig Smith to give Kenny Dannfald the easy task of crossing the line for his first of the day. He converted his own try leaving Leith looking good at 14-0.

From here Leith had the game in their hands and should have start to put it to bed, however again poor execution in key areas prevented Leith from further extending their lead and opened the door for them to come back into the game. Quick thinking from a quickly taken tap penalty gave Lismore a score to get them pack into the game. Once again Leith hit back to get on the scoreboard again. From a clearing kick that didn’t go out, the back three of Smith, Dannfald and Swift were able to combine crisply and effectively to allow Swift to go over in the far corner for his first Leith try. Although Leith once again opened the door for Lismore with some poor defence allowing their 10 to nip in under the posts for the 2nd try. Scores after this period of points trading were 19 – 12 to Leith.

With only a few minutes left in the 1st half Leith added a bit of gloss to the first half performance. From an attacking position out wide, Dannfald stabbed the ball forward into the 22m area, where the chasing Leith players were able to attack the man gathering the ball. After a quick turnover, Neil Paterson handed Dannfald the ball who was able to go over unchallenged for the middle of the 22m. This made the score 26-12 at half time and Leith knew Lismore would be coming out of the traps all guns blazing at the start of the 2nd half.

As expected Lismore tried to claw their way back into the game and were successful in getting another score back in the game. Leith were struggling to wake up and were struggling to put more than a few phases together. However defence was standing strong repelling the Lismore attacks. Leith then managed to get a further few scores to pull a wee bit further ahead of our Hosts. First, Craig Smith was able to gather up a loose ball and after chipping over the top of the full back Blair Skipper got the luck of the bounce to go over in the corner. Soon after Smith was on hand to provide Ross Marwick with the final pass allowing the big centre to charge down the wing and touchdown.

Lismore then got a deserved bonus point try after Leith failed to clear their lines and gave away too many penalties in the red zone. However Leith were to have the final say on the game with a couple of similar scores. Firstly following a scrum, Elliot Richardson was able to take on and beat a few men, before drawing and passing to Kenny Dannfald who was able to go over for his hat trick. The pair combined again as Richardson collected a ball from the back of a ruck and simple use of hands and straight running Dannfald went over from halfway for his 4th. Final score Lismore 24 v 50 Leith.

Leith were glad to get the bonus point win in what was a pretty poor performance made to look good by a few late tries. Credit to our hosts who stuck in well to the end and are ever improving. A few more big training sessions required before our final few games of the year to ensure we remain where we want to be.

Tries – Dannfald (4), Smith, Swift, Marwick & Skipper

Convs – Dannfald (5)

MOTM - Richardson