North Wales Crusaders tasted defeat in Betfred League One for the first time in 2025, as they fell 26-20 to Swinton Lions at Heywood Road.
A fifth away game in the opening six rounds of the competition proved to be a step too far for Carl Forster’s North Wales side who, despite leading 16-10 at half-time, saw their unbeaten start to the season ended by a Lions side with their own top four ambitions.
On a sunny afternoon in Greater Manchester, it was the home side who opened the scoring.
With just four minutes on the clock, the hosts made use of good field position as Tommy Porter setup Jamie Reddcliff who burrowed his way under the Crusaders defence.
However, it took a mater of minutes for Forster’s side to respond, Jody Gibson sent Sam Wilde over the line to level the score.
After a back-and-fourth period, Crusaders took the lead for the first time in the afternoon as the ball was shifted out wide to Pat Ah Van who made no mistake in finishing in the corner.
A fiery end to the first-half saw Swinton reduced to 12 men as Finley Beardsworth was sent to the sin-bin for a dangerous tackle.
Having successfully kicked the resulting penalty, North Wales made further use of their man advantage as Ollie Brooked crossed the whitewash in the corner sending the teams into half-time with the score at 6-16.
As Swinton returned to their full compliment for the second-half, Crusaders couldn’t find their rhythm.
With five minutes gone they were made to pay for their errors as Gav Rodden placed a low kick into the path of Jack Stevens who gathered the ball to score.
Just minutes later, Swinton re-took the lead courtesy of Ellis Anderson who broke the line and evaded the Crusaders’ defensive efforts.
Following a period of sustained pressure from Swinton, the advantage changed hands once again as former Lions star Josh Eaves forced his way over the line from close range.
As the game entered its final 15 minutes, and with two points separating the sides, Swinton’s Dan Abram levelled the scores once again, calmly converting a penalty conceded for a high-tackle.
The entertaining affair was settled in the final ten minutes as the hosts continued to pressure the Crusaders’ line before Frank Sergent broke the defensive line to score and see his side claim an important two points with a 26-20 victory.
Despite defeat, Crusaders remain top of Betfred League One as their attention now turns to a home tie against Newcastle Thunder on Sunday 18th May.