Southend 22
Lydney moved eight points clear of the relegation zone in National League Two South with a narrow win over struggling Southend, writes Chris Wilson.
But they had to show courage and determination to turn round a 15-3 deficit to do so.
The Severnsiders did blot an otherwise pleasing performance by allowing their opponents a late score that earned them a losing bonus point that could be crucial at the end of the season.
Lydney opened the first half brightly but Southend, despite not having won an away game for over a year, steadily took control.
Danny Trigg posted the first points of the game with an early penalty, but after that, Southend belied their lowly status with some good attacking rugby.
Two tries in as many minutes from Todd Bailey and Mark Billings, both the result of quick ball out wide catching the home defence undermanned, had the visitors 12-3 up after 15 minutes and when Sam Arnott potted a drop goal soon afterwards, they looked in complete charge.
Lydney roused themselves and Trigg kicked another penalty before good hands freed Josh Hannam down the right and he won the race to his own kick despite Arnott's attempts to hold him back.
Trigg missed the conversion but slotted his third penalty of the half to just about dig his side out of the hole they found themselves in and leave the Severnsiders trailing by just a point at the break.
Lydney dominated the second half, piling pressure on the Southend line but the visitors showed far more resilience than they had last week in shipping 14 tries against Henley and it took the Severnsiders 12 minutes to grab the lead, Trigg slotting his fourth penalty of the game.
He was off target with another attempt ten minutes later when the referee's patience finally snapped and Alan Barker was sin binned after one too many offences at the breakdown.
It took a few minutes but Lydney finally capitalised on their man advantage when Dave Bennett plucked a high pass from above his head and strode through a gap to score, Trigg adding the simple goal.
Lydney kept up the pressure looking to add to their lead and deny their visitors a losing bonus point. However, with the final play of the game and their first real attack of the half, Southend snatched a try from Andrew McLintock converted by Andrew Frost that gave them some reward from a committed defensive performance.
LYDNEY: T Wicks; J Hannam, C Holder, J Innes, T Lacabuka; D Trigg, J Graham; P Price, J Fields, S Winchcombe; C Daniell, D Bennett; T Longton, W Jones; M Taylor (Capt.). Reps: BLewis (for Fields, 50), A Ledner (for Price, 62), B Taylor, D Chui (for Lacabuka, 50), J McMahon.
SOUTHEND: A Frost; D Cleare, C Vaughan, M Stanley, M Billings; L MacGeachy, S Arnott; M Guess (Capt.), C Keenan, T Bailey; A McLintock, A Barker; S Fombo, H Hudson; C Green. Reps: N Grier (for Keenan, 65), C Strachan (for Bailey, 50), T Ashton, J Daly, J Douglas (for Fombo, 35).
Referee: Guy Steele-Bodger (RFU Appointment)
Star Man: Tim Longton was the pick of a towering performance from the back row
