Fourteen-man Lions battle well despite defeat at Perranporth

LISKEARD-Looe put in an encouraging performance, but it was Perranporth that edged a close contest at Ponsmere Valley.

The opening exchanges were even, but the Lions’ task was made more difficult on 10 minutes when scrum-half James Noel-Johnson was red-carded following an infringement right in front of the referee.

The Liskeard-Looe pack gained a degree of dominance at the scrum, but needed some stout defence to keep the home side’s lively backs quiet. However, on 33 minutes, Kai Sale managed to run in from nearly 40 yards to score an unconverted try.

The second half began disastrously for the Lions as Perranporth ran in two soft unconverted tries on 41 and 46 minutes via William Wright and Jack Sullivan, giving them a 15-0 lead which they extended by seven before the hour with a converted score from Jake Andrew.

The visitors made good use of the possession from the scrums, with the back row in particular gaining good ground, and with 15 minutes remaining they finally got on the scoresheet when lock Mike Prowse crossed for an unconverted try.

To their credit, the visitors maintained the pressure and were finally rewarded on 73 minutes when the pack, having won the ball at a scrum seven yards out, pushed the hosts backwards to allow No.8 Adam Dack to do the rest.

However, they couldn’t force a bonus point in the dying stages as the Brewers held on.

Liskeard-Looe head to Bude on Saturday (3pm).

LISKEARD-LOOE: Kieran Underhill; Josh Husband, Jack Badnall, Callum Beaver, James Rogers; Mike McCarthy, James Noel-Johnson; Mike Mander, Cian Goldsmith, Jack Wilton; Yestin Hutchings, Mike Prowse; Alex Kendall, Will Hoskin, Adam Dack. Replacements: Oscar Mortimer, Luke Chapman, Sean Simmons, Kieran Knight.

Tries: Prowse, Dack; Convs: N/A; Pens: N/A.

Lions’ man-of-the-match: Cian Goldsmith.