Bridport 13-32 Lytchett Minster: Daggers beaten at home

LYTCHETT MINSTER 32

BRIDPORT Daggers fell to a home loss against Counties Two Tribute Dorset & Wilts South champions elect Lytchett Minster on a rain-soaked Brewery Ground pitch.

Lytchett are now champions with a 13-point gap and only 10 points to play for in the final two matches, while Bridport occupy sixth.

Both sets of players line up before the game (Image: BERNHARD KOSTER)

Despite some early signs of promise from Daggers, Lytchett showed that even in the wet conditions they would endeavour to move the ball about the pitch.

Offering plenty of options to their fly-half Jamie O’Shea, a neat series of phases saw the first try well taken by Bailey Andrews.

Having faced this early setback, Daggers struck back following strong carries from Luke Robertson and Daragh Mcloughlin, showing that Daggers had the forward power to match Lytchett.

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This pressure caught Lytchett offside and Sam Petchey put Daggers on the scoreboard with a well-taken penalty.

Playing the territory game, Daggers kicked long and trusted their defensive work to pin Lytchett in their own half.

From the resulting return kicks, Daggers’ Camille Bird was on a hot streak, carrying every ball back with pace and power that Lytchett struggled to handle. Once again, this provided Petchey with another three points from a penalty.

Having been placed under a fair amount of pressure, Lytchett came back, as O’Shea shot through the gap off of a first phase move from a scrum. O’Shea made it into the Daggers’ 22, before feeding Harry Spyers for a try that had both sides’ supporters applauding.

Harry Spyers finishes off a well-worked try for Lytchett Minster (Image: BERNHARD KOSTER)

In the closing acts of the first half, O’Shea added to Lytchett’s lead with a penalty that had seen Daggers creeping offside.

Having identified the water lying on the sides of the pitch, Lytchett targeted this area early in the second half. Straight from the restart, a crossfield kick was claimed by Spyers, who eventually fed James Read to go over for a cleverly worked score.

With a lead growing, Daggers displayed character in going after Lytchett by pulling a series of phases together. Charlie Samways spotted a gap behind the Lytchett defence and a chip over the top was dropped, enabling Samways to regather and go in under the posts for a converted try.

Having brought the score closer, a breakaway try occurred when a long kick created an awkward bounce, which escaped Daggers.

Andrews got his foot to the ball first, hacking his way to the line and getting his hand to the ball before it reached the dead-ball line.

Daggers continued to fight, but with the win now out of reach and the clock against them, the desire in defence had fallen slightly.

At this point, Lytchett turned on their power game and replacement Daniel Linehan went over for the final try of the match, shrugging off the attempted tackles.

Daggers’ next game will be away for a league and cup combined match against Oakmeadians on Saturday, March 16.

Keep an eye on Bridport RFC’s social media channels for opening times at their clubhouse for watching the Six Nations, which continues this weekend.