LYMM Rugby Club found themselves in what is becoming painfully familiar territory on Saturday.

At key points in their trip to Sheffield Tigers, they held the advantage and looked set for an impressive win at their fourth-placed opposition.

Indeed, the men from Crouchley Lane held a 14-point lead in the early stages of the second half and were two points ahead with the game reaching its final stages.

However, the Yorkshiremen came on strong when it mattered most to close out a 47-35 victory and consign Lymm to a third straight defeat.

They did not leave empty-handed as the five tries they scored – courtesy of Sean Callendar, Andy Rowley, Tom Shard, Harry Martin and James Kimber, all converted by Shard – secured them a bonus point, but their efforts to secure a losing bonus point fell just short.

While taking the positives from his side’s display, Fletcher said his side must find the formula for converting leads into victories and they must do so fast.

“Another frustrating result. I thought that for 60 minutes we were outstanding,” he surmised.

“We have to quickly learn how to close games out, as we have found ourselves in this situation on a number of occasions but have ended up losing.

“To score 35 points at Dore Moor is a massive positive and we will take that momentum into the Preston Grasshoppers match next week.”

Lymm hit the front when Rowley expertly tapped Cal Morris’ kick backwards for Callendar to touch down, but the hosts quickly responded as hooker William Archer touched down from a rolling maul.

While Joshua Redfern’s try then gave the Tigers the lead, Lymm hit straight back and two tries in 10 minutes saw them lead at the break – Rowley again got his hands to a Morris chip but this time scored himself before Shard benefitted from a period of pressure-building by dummying his way over the line.

Lymm’s kicking game then moved them into what looked like a commanding position just after the break – a Morris kick was not well cleared by the hosts, allowing the scrum-half to kick again into Paddy Jennings’ hands.

He took off towards the line and although the home defence scrambled to stop him, the ball was recycled for Shard to kick for Martin to touch down.

However, what followed was a 14-minute period in which Lymm conceded three tries courtesy of Archer, James Broadley and Harry Cartwright and saw Morris sin-binned for repeated infringements.

Lymm instantly hit back, though, as Martin charged down a clearing kick and the ball bounced kindly for Kimber to dot down, with Shard’s conversion taking the visitors back into the lead with 17 minutes remaining.

Six minutes later, however, and with Morris still off the field, Broadley scored his second try to put the hosts back into the lead and they finished off the game when Barney Goatley’s break was finished off by Ryan Holmes.

Lymm must now dust themselves down for Preston Grasshoppers’ visit to Crouchley Lane on Saturday, kick off 2pm.

Lymm: Ralph McEachran, James Pitcher, Matty Hand, Gav Woods, Rhys Lilly, Sean Callender, Harry Martin, Josh Hadland; Callum Morris, Tom Shard; Paddy Jennings, Ste Pilkington, James Kimber, Andy Williams, Andy Rowley. Subs: Jordan Widdrington, Nick Ashton, Jake Ashall, Joe Senior, Nathan Beesley