Mahoney’s late score is pride of the Lions

Leicester Lions 24pts Chester .................. 19pts

LEICESTER Lions head coach Andy Key hailed his side’s resolve after they held off a spirited fightback from Chester to take the win.

A strong first-half showing for the home side with tries from Devon Constant, Elliot Bale and James Grayson gave Leicester a 19-6 lead before a try from Shaun Strudwick and the boot of Callum Bennett leveled the match.

Leicester broke the momentum of the visitors in the final few minutes to snatch the victory through a Harry Mahoney try, to cement their position in the National League Two top four.

Key said “It was a good win for us and we can take our hats off and be very positive about our defence here.

“We didn’t give them that many opportunities and it has shown in the 4-1 try count.

“Our first-half was probably one of the best halves of rugby we’ve played this season and full credit to Chester, they never give up and they kept coming back at us, but thankfully our resolve was their and in the last ten minutes we’ve earned the win.”

Leicester opened the scoring inside two minutes when Constant was on the end of a strong drive for the line after gaining momentum deep inside the Chester half, with Bale adding the conversion.

Chester got themselves onto the scoreboard midway through the firsthalf, through the boot of Bennett after Marco Dallavalle was penalised.

That sprang the Lions into action again as Bale was on the end of a lovely move between Constant and Grayson, with the former powering for the line, drawing the defender out, before offloading as the Lions extended their lead.

A third try before the break came via Grayson as he exploited the space behind the defence to get on the end of his own kick and surge to the line, as well as adding the extra points with the conversion, as Leicester threatened to surge away from their opponents.

Just before the break, Bennett added a second penalty for the visitors who went into the break with much work to do, trailing by 19-6.

A sustained period deep in the Lions half, allowed Chester to build a drive for the line with Strudwick touching over for the try, with Bennett succesfully converting.

A drop goal and a penalty from Bennett levelled the match and left it wide open for either team to take the victory.

It was the Lions that regrouped quickest and Mahoney was able to spot a gap and touch over for the game-winning try.

Chester head coach Jan van Deventer was left to rue a missed opportunity.

“We’re disappointed to just come away with a bonus point,” he said.

“We gave them a head start and, to be fair, they were clinical and it’s always going to be tough to come here

“We showed some serious commitment and team spirit to drag ourselves back into the game.”