SWINTON LIONSM-I36 ROCHDALE HORNETSM-I12

WEDNESDAY'S Gigg Lane meeting with local rivals Rochdale Hornets proved to be a lot tougher than this result suggests.

Since the arrival of new player coach Deryck Fox injury-ravaged Hornets have improved dramatically.

A high tackle on Gareth Adams gave Steve Gartland a first minute penalty goal. The former Rochdale player then played a significant part in the Lions first try.

His hanging kick was well taken by Gavin Price-Jones and the winger gave a neat inside pass for Jimmy Vaikoso to touch down.

Gartland's touchline conversion gave Swinton an 8-0 lead after 13 minutes.

Hornets levelled things with a well-taken Paul Stephens try and two Fox goals.

Four minutes from half time Paul Barrow made the break to sent Andy Coley racing behind the posts. Gartland's conversion plus a penalty when Paul Topping was guilty of lying on in a tackle, gave the Lions a 16-8 interval lead. Rochdale hit back with a Jon Aston try in the corner just three minutes after the restart.

The turning point came when Hornets coach Fox was put in the sin bin for backchatting referee Ian McGregor after 51 minutes.

Swinton immediately went on attack and following some intense pressure, an Adams try extended their lead to 20-12.

Jim Evans was having a superb game at full-back and his involvement in the Lions' next touchdown went a long way towards earning him the man-of-the-match award.

After fielding a high kick close to his own line, Evans raced through the static Rochdale defence and handed on to Gartland who finished off the length of the field move. The half-back had no trouble with the goalkick.

In the final two minutes of the game Lions' skipper Shaun Casey scored a quickfire double. Slack tackling by Hornets tiring defence saw him touchdown for a try that Gartland converted.

Then Casey seized a loose ball after Rochdale sub Steve Cameron had coughed up possession. He ran 40 metres unopposed for the simplest of scores.

So the Lions rich vein of form continues with Sunday's trip to Hull KR taking on added significance after both sides had defeated first division leaders Wakefield Trinity in the last seven days.

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