14-man Boro are beaten despite fightback

P’boro Lions .... 15 Hull Ionians ..25

PETERBOROUGH Lions came close to causing the upset of the day as they were beaten by league leaders Hull Ionians.

Despite being down to 14 men for 55 minutes the Lions battled back from 170 down to 20-15 and an upset was on the cards.

The game started with Hull dominating field position and Lewis Minikin kicked a straightforward penalty on 11 minutes to put Hull in front.

Ten minutes later following sustained periods of pressure and winger Samuel Wilson crossed. On 22 minutes Lions centre Suva Ma’asi was sent off for an alleged high tackle, reducing the Lions to 14 men for the remainder of the match.

On 28 minutes Hull made the most of the extra number and second row Edward Falkingham crashed over for a converted score to leave the Lions trailing 17-0.

However, the Lions bounced back with sustained forward pressure resulting in hooker Jack Askham scoring on 36 minutes. Early in the second period, Lions’ Tom Gulland dived over for a try converted by Nico Defeo.

Minikin’s penalty was then cancelled out by Ben Young’s three-pointer as the hosts grew in confidence with the score 20-15.

Despite Lions pressure, the Hull defence held firm and replacement William Booth crossed late on to break Lions’ hearts and take away a deserved bonus point.