WARRINGTON WOLVES 10 MANCHESTER SWINTON LIONESSES 18
GREG NIXON, Edge Hall Road Community Stadium, Orrell, Sunday
A HAT-TRICK by Manchester Swinton Lionesses winger Grace Pritchard sealed a hard-fought win.
In an error-strewn and sometimes ill-tempered game, Pritchard’s pace was the difference between the sides.
On a sour note for the winners, centre Grace Arrowsmith – who had opened the scoring in the 13th minute – was shown a yellow card eight minutes from time for a suspected hip-drop tackle.
Arrowsmith’s opener on the left was quickly added to when Pritchard took advantage of hesitation by Warrington fullback Hollie Gregory from a high kick by player of the match Tamika Bull, to score under the sticks. Eve Armstrong added the extras to open up a 10-0 lead.
At that point it looked like Swinton might run away with the game, but – to their credit – a young Wolves side managed to gain a foothold on the back of some poor Lionesses discipline and, when the ball was reefed as Teneisha Fairbrother headed for a corner, quick hands from the resultant penalty allowed Evie Williams to force her way over on the half-hour.
Michelle Davis missed the conversion to leave the score 10-4 but, with three minutes of the first half left, Kaitlin Hilton forced her way over the line after Swinton had been punished for more ill-discipline, and Davis had no trouble in levelling up the scores at the break.
Warrington started the brighter in the second half, but poor handling let them down and it was only a matter of time before Swinton capitalised.
Pritchard crossed just before the hour to break the deadlock – and Warrington’s resistance – before sealing her hat-trick in the closing seconds.
WOLVES: 1 Hollie Gregory, 27 Teneisha Fairbrother, 4 Kaitlin Hilton, 5 Hollie Brussels, 28 Evie Williams, 6 Michelle Davis, 7 Ellie Costello, 8 Beth Hayes, 9 Emma Dwyer, 10 Megan Bragg (c), 22 Kayleigh Bradshaw, 12 Georgia Westwood, 13 Maddie Price. Subs: 11 Shannon Stephens, 14 Megan Condliffe, 15 Ellie Dooney, 17 Jen Myler, 18 Ellie Jelves, 19 Lydia Egan
Tries: Williams (29), Hilton (37); Goals: Davis 1/2
LIONESSES: 1 Eve Ashcroft (c), 2 Chloe Newbigging , 3 Kerry Evan, 4 Grace Arrowsmith, 5 Grace Pritchard, 6 Tamika Bull, 7 Maddison Higson, 21 Eleanor Atherton, 9 Abbie Singleton, 16 Madeline Neal, 30 Jasmine Wilson, 12 Amber Harmon, 13 Georgia Briggs. Subs (all used): 8 Georgia Lake, 14 Morgan Pearson, 15 Emma Welsford, 17 Leila D’Symonds, 18 Amelia Newton, 27 Charlotte Hall, 29 Yasmin Parton Sotomayer
Tries: Arrowsmith (13), Pritchard (16, 58, 79); Goals: Ashcroft 1/2, Bull 0/1
Sin bin: Arrowsmith (72) – hip-drop tackle
SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 10-0, 10-4, 10-10; 14-10, 18-10
Half-time: 10-10; Referee: Tyler Topping-Higson