LYMM were blown away by Fylde’s dazzling 30-minute rally when it seemed a home win was on the cards.

Two converted tries early in the second half put Lymm 28-17 clear but the visitors clicked into gear and banished the hosts with 33 unanswered points.

The Beechwood men are without a game this weekend and will head to Sheffield a week on Saturday looking to get back on track in their first season in National League 2 North, the highest level Lymm have played at.

Director of rugby Adam Fletcher said: “It feels a bit like Groundhog Day.

“For 50 minutes we were brilliant, getting ourselves 28-17 in front.

“Fylde brought some heavy artillery off the bench that helped them kick on, they got momentum and we couldn’t wrestle it back.

“Fylde showed some real class in the last period, their offloading game and speed of ball was brilliant.

‘I’m proud of our boys but we have to be able to match teams for the full 80 minutes if we are to come away with all the points.”

For Fylde, it was revenge following the last-minute defeat, courtesy of a Tom Shard drop goal, in the early season encounter. As it turned out there were no such last minute wobbles for the away side who had put the game well and truly to bed long before the final whistle.

The Lymm team sheet saw various changes from the previous week.

Josh Hadland and Rhys Lilly returned to the back row, Callum Morris was restored at scrum-half following illness and Nathan Beesley continued to deputise at full-back.

Fylde started with the strong breeze in their favour and were immediately on the attack, going through a series of phases ending with a simple score between the posts in the first minute.

Lymm responded when Morris took advantage of a quick tap penalty to cross the line, with Shard adding the extras.

A penalty goal and converted try gave Fylde a 17-7 lead but Lymm fired back before the interval when flanker Harry Martin collected a delayed pass from Morris to scythe through.

The first 10-minutes of the second half could not have gone more to plan, kicking long with the wind in their favour and pinning Fylde down leading to converted tries from Beesley and Matty Hand.

Lymm were looking dominant but Fylde had other ideas and for the next 30 minutes it was all one-way traffic.

After emptying the bench, Fylde played some powerful and skilful rugby and having barely touched the ball in all that time Lymm’s players and spectators were left shell shocked.

On the positive side, Lymm gained their first bonus point of the year, but 2024 has been a stuttering start and the reality of Level 4 rugby is well and truly beginning to bite.

Lymm: Gav Woods, Rob Makin, Matty Hand, Ben Thompson, James Yates, Harry Martin, Rhys Lilly, Josh Hadland, Cal Morris, Tom Shard, Paddy Jennings, James Kimber, Steve Pilkington, Andy Williams, Nathan Beesley. Replacements: Joe Higgins, Nick Ashton, Joe Johnson, Oli Higginson, Jack Stride.