Swinton Lions fell to a 48-22 defeat at North Wales Crusaders in the Championship.
The hosts took the points with a nine-try performance in an end-to-end tussle with the Lions.
The Lions started brightly, with Ellis Anderson held up in the left corner on four minutes, but it was Crusaders who went ahead on eight minutes after an obstruction near the line. From the penalty, Mark Ioane burst over under the posts, with Dec Patton converting.
It got better on 12 minutes when Brad England brushed through some tackles to score on the left, and Patton again converted. Patton then kicked a forty-twenty, but Ethan Fitzgerald, the Lions winger, seemed to intercept but was brought back for a knock-on.
From the scrum, more pressure on the line, and Jayden Hatton crossed on the right, but the conversion was missed.
The Lions hit back on 22 minutes when Fin Irwin broke tackles to score his first Lions points under the posts, and Reece Briers added the conversion.
Within four minutes, Crusaders were in again when Jordy Gibson kicked for the left corner to find Luke Forber to score, but again no conversion from Patton.
The Lions were coming strong in the latter stages of the half and made the Crusaders’ defence work hard to keep them out, with Jack Stevens having the best chance.
Another good start to the second half by the Lions, with George Roby being held just short, but it was Crusaders who got the points on the board when Patton sent Chris Barratt in by the posts and added the conversion.
They went back-to-back as two minutes later Joe Baldwin found a big gap on the right to score, and Patton converted.
Then some good play by the Lions came to nothing, and a penalty put Crusaders in a good position for Greg Eden to score in the corner, but no conversion.
Tom Bridge then cut inside to score on sixty-three minutes, and Jordy Gibson added the conversion.
The Lions were not lying down and hit back on sixty-five minutes when Jack Stevens sent Trent Kelly-Duffy over under the posts, and Briers converted. Five minutes left, and Patton put out a lovely pass for Pat Moran to score under the posts, and Gibson converted.
The Lions were still going forward strongly, and Fitzgerald scored in the right corner with two minutes left, but Briers missed the conversion. In the dying seconds of the game, Crusaders fumbled a ball near their own line, and Higham pounced to score, and Briers converted.
The match report was provided by Ian Rigg and the featured photo was taken by Olly Hassell – SWpix.
