It was a cold, dry and overcast afternoon at TMDP Park, Blaby, for the first Lions’ fixture of 2019, against second placed Chester. The playing surface was dry and in good condition. Chester had ex-England player Ben Foden at full back for the game.
Chester started off the game putting Lions under pressure. After 3 mins Chester's forward pressure pushed Lions back onto their try line. They shipped the ball out to the right wing for winger Adam King to go over for a try.
Lions were getting little possession but on 20 mins they kicked through clearing their own line. From a lineout they took possession and drove forward with hooker Oli Taylor powering over for a try converted by Harry Key, taking the score to 7-5.
On 24 mins Chester soon come back and forward play took them up the centre of the pitch. They passed out to the backs and an elegant telling scything run by Tom Foden took him through the Lions' defence to score a try, with James Robins adding the conversion and putting Chester back in the lead at 7-12.

Half Time: Leicester Lions 7 Chester 12

On 48 mins Chester offended and Harry Key scored a penalty for Lions.
On 52 mins Lions took a clearance kick to touch, with Chester taking a quick throw-in which led to them conceding a penalty. Alex Smit took Lions' penalty quickly and moved the ball out to the left wing for Devon Constant to force his way over for a try with Harry Key adding the conversion and restoring their lead to 17-12.
On 58 mins Chester come back with a forward drive and hooker Alick Croft went over for a try, converted by James Robins to retake the lead at 17-19.
On 66 mins Lions worked the ball up the left hand side of the pitch and smartly passed the ball out to Sam Benjamin on the right wing, who outpaced Chester's defence to score in the corner, taking Lions back into the lead at 22-19.
On 79 mins Chester offended during a Lions' attack and Harry Key puts over the penalty to finish off the game at 25-19.

Full Time: Leicester Lions 25 Chester 19

Three tries to both teams. A splendid competitive game, with both sides showing their ability. Chester put Lions under pressure in the first half, but excellent defence and tackling by Lions kept them in the game. In the second half a superb effort by Lions gives them a deserved victory.

In recent weeks Lions have defeated both league leaders, Hull Ionians, and second placed Chester, at TMDP Park, Blaby. A great improvement following some indifferent results in the early part of the season.

Lions' head coach, Andy Key, says, "We felt we defended well in the first half when Chester did not give us a lot of possession. We gained in confidence in the second half, with the team, much to their credit, producing a deserved victory. I can feel the team improving in stature as the season has progressed. An excellent performance to start 2019."

Following the game Leicester Lions moved up the league table to 10th position, although it is fairly close in the middle of the table, with Chester remaining in second position.

Teams: Order 15-9, 1-8, 16-20
Leicester Lions: Alex Wilcockson, Sam Benjamin, Jamel Hamilton, Harry Key, Devon Constant, Max Titchener, Alex Smit, Will Roberts, Oli Taylor, Dan Ali, Ollie Tapscott, Ethan Godefroy, Ross Herbert, Jonny Murdoch, Simon Johnson
Replacements: Ben Spokes, Demo Gonsalves, Tom Aviss, Josh Leonard

Chester: Ben Foden, Adam King, Tom Foden, James Robins, Matthew Van Sertima, Callum Bennett, Tom Holloway, Colin Campbell, Alick Croft, Alex Reed, Richard Cotterell, Ross White, Kyle Joseph, George Baxter, Shay Owen
Replacements: Scott Robson, Oliver Hughes, Rhodri Parry, Josh Woods, Jonathan Roberts

For further details consult www.ncarugby.com

Match details

Match date

Sat 05 Jan 2019

Kickoff

14:00

Competition

National 2 North

League position

Chester

Leicester Lions

Team overview

Leicester Lions 25 Chester 19 - Saturday 5th January 2019 - Match Report

Valiant Leicester Lions performance overcomes second placed Chester

Match details

Match date

Kickoff

Competition

League position

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