Liverpool St Helens 10 Doncaster 33

LSH contributed much to their own downfall as they were made to pay dearly for basic mistakes.

Straight from the kick-off they were put under pressure when their kick did not travel 10 metres and Doncaster secured possession from the ensuing scrum.

The visitors drove play deep into LSH territory and engineered an overlap from which they scored a converted try, and within two minutes had increased their lead with a penalty goal following an offence at a ruck.

It took some time for the home side to recover their composure but they gradually

worked their way into the game and were inspired by a strong run from Jones which

caused panic in the Doncaster side.

There followed a 20-minute period when LSH were in the ascendancy and from a set move at a line-out Lupton drove deep into the defence. The move was carried on by Bailey and Dadswell and swift passing gave Sephton space to score in the corner.

LSH forced a number of penalty opportunities but a swirling wind made kicking difficult and Cummin missed narrowly with his attempted kicks.

Another good break by Lupton and Gaskell almost created a try but Doncaster scrambled the ball clear and another opportunity was lost.

As half-time approached LSH were confident of drawing level but two tries in quick succession put paid to these hopes. In both cases the defensive formation of the home side failed and the Doncaster left wing scored two tries, the second as he ran through three attempted tackles.

At 20-5 at half time LSH needed an early score to improve confidence but instead they offended at a ruck and the Doncaster full-back converted the penalty.

LSH were struggling to generate quality first phase possession but still played with enthusiasm and showed their ability by scoring a good try from Brooks in the right hand corner.

This, however, was the last of their scoring as Doncaster used the strong wind, and their scrummage advantage, to camp in the home half and score two unconverted tries.

In the last 10 minutes Doncaster tried to force a further score with a number of five-metre scrums but the spirit of the LSH forwards came to the fore and they refused to buckle.

There were a number of bright spots for LSH's young side who often showed their undoubted potential but they must learn to maintain concentration and patience.

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