STEVE Hampson and Lynx had a golden opportunity to put the double over the first side this season and to put them level on points with Hornets into the bargain.

Unfortunately the Lancashire side looked tired and disinterested in this dismal fixture and their loyal fans for once were starting to turn against them.

The home side managed to score first with a Neil Flannagan drop goal after an early foray into Rochdale territory.

Hornet's full back Peter Fitzgerald hit back within minutes after he latched on to the ball at pace and scored right under the Lynx posts.

Fitzgerald converted his own try and after 19 minutes Rochdale were denied another try for a double movement.

Hornet's tails were up now and a cracking crossfield kick from ex-Warrington Wolves stand-off Willie Swan proved too much for the Lynx defence.

Winger Sean Cooper outjumped everyone and caught the ball superbly before placing the ball down for a great try.

Lynx tried to get back on terms but were denied a try by a forward pass.

PJ Soloman, who had been Lancashire's best player in both defence and attack, showed his frustration when he caught Chris McKinney with a head high tackle.

Fitzgerald punished Lynx, converting the penalty for another two points.

Lynx were constantly making ground in attack but just seemed to lack belief and fresh ideas when they hit the Rochdale 20-metre line.

Confounding everyone, Darren Abram broke through in midfield, side-stepped a couple of defenders and scored a great opportunist try.

Stand-off Neil Alexander converted to give a Lynx a more reasonable score at half-time of 14 points to 7 down.

Lynx were still in the dressing room after the interval when centre Sean Cooper ran through their defence.

He passed to the hard-working forward Matt Knowles who burst through to the line with great power to score an easy try.

Cooper was a constant threat with his darting runs and he again turned provider when he slipped the ball to Fitzgerald for his second try of the game.

Lynx were increasingly frustrating to watch as they moved the ball out of defence.

There was little support play, little motivation and little idea as the crowd started screaming for some invention to turn the game around.

It fell on deaf ears though and Willie Swann, who had been a constant thorn in the Lynx side, scrabbled over the line for another four points after 24 minutes.

The game was over as a contest now and it was up to Lynx to show some pride and grasp the nettle.

Winger Dave Jones made a break down the left wing and gained some hard yards for his team.

From the play Lynx man of the match Steve Gee powered over the whitewash for an unlikely try.

Moment's later Rochdale gained a scrum and Willie Swann scored the try of the game when he ran across two-thirds of the Lynx defence to score in the left corner.

Fitzpatrick missed the conversion to leave the final score at 34 points to 13 to the Hornets.

With few fixtures and no relegation from the league, it appears that Lynx have given up the ghost, which must be frustrating for coach Steve Hampson.

It will certainly not please the hard core of supporters who have been following Lynx through thick and thin.

Let's hope that pride plays a part for the remaining games.

Next game is at Victory Park against Featherstone Rovers tomorrow (Friday, July 23), kick off 7.30pm.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.