The weather conditions at Judges Road on Saturday were atrocious with strong wind and driving rain through out on top of incessant rain over the previous 48 hours. Seapoint had the slight advantage of the elements in the first half which started in a welter of excitement. Derry went over the top 40 meters out from their own posts playing phases and Man of the Match out half Brian Keegan slotted over the resultant penalty from 40 meters to give his team a 3pts lead with just 2 minutes gone.
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City of Derry retorted in positive fashion to give the home fans hope and with 4 minutes gone Stephen Ferguson produced a powerful drive out of his own half and when winger Ryan Campbell was released he showed a great turn of pace to outstrip the defense form 35 meters to touch down for a try and Derry were in the lead by 5pts to 3pts. Keegan regained the lead for Seapoint on 9 minutes when Derry were penalised for offside at a scrum 10 meters in front of their own posts and it was 6pts to 5pts for the Dublin men.
Derry was playing well against the elements but their undoing was coughing up possession at will. Their first six lineouts on their own throw in saw just one won and the number of infringements at the breakdown throughout the game manifested itself in Derry having two men sin binned during the game. Despite themselves Derry were back in the lead on 12 minutes when Simon Logue fielded a loose kick in his own half and produced some dazzling footwork to unlock the Seapoint defense line and link with Richard Baird who offloaded to supporting Richard McCarter and he scored an excellent try in the corner for a 10pts to 6pts lead for the home team.
Seapoint reduced the deficit on 18 minutes to 10pts to 9pts when Derry went offside once again 20 meters out and Keegan tapped over the penalty. There were 27 minutes gone when Seapoint roared back into the lead. Derry’s lack of aggression at the set piece was exposed this time at a lineout on their own 22, JP Finlay secured ball for Seapoint and the forwards produced a driving maul that exposed Derry’s inadequacies and Johnny Walsh and Vincent Browne setup prop Brian Lyons to touch down for a try which Keegan converted for a 16pts to 10pts lead which they took to the break.
Derry got the perfect start to the second half and within 3 minutes they were back in the lead. Simon Logue again conjured the sparkle with a fine run into the Seapoint half and Richard McCarter carried the ball on to setup a ruck 22 meters out. The quick thinking Andrew Semple spotted the Seapoint defense out of position and he produced a delicate chip over the ruck for McCarter to touch down for a try which he converted himself to put Derry back into the lead at 17pts to 16pts. The Derry Coach’s Bevan Lynch and Mark Nicholl went to the bench immediately and brought on Sam McCauley, Sam Duffy and Mark Walker which should have allowed Derry to kick on for victory.
Derry had the elements in their favor and the expectant home support anticipated the Seapoint monkey being finally laid to rest. It was not to be as Derry were so passive at the breakdown that instead of winning go forward ball to kick field position with the wind, they invited Seapoint to come and play ball in their half and go on and win the game. Seapoint did not disappoint Derry or their supporters as they gained in confidence playing all the rugby in the Derry half and on 16 minutes their forwards once again dominated at line out time on the Derry 22 and wing forward Hugh Kellegher ran in for a try which Keegan converted for a 23pts to 17pts lead.
Derry were to receive a severe blow to their chances of making any further impact on the game when Mark Walker was sin binned on 18 minutes and two minutes later the ubiquitous Brian Keegan dropped a goal for Seapoint as a result of pressure to give his team a 26pts to 17pts lead. McCarter missed a penalty opportunity on 24 minutes but he gave Derry hope on 32 minutes when he converted a penalty to leave one score between the teams as Seapoint lead by 26pts to 20 pts.
The final nail was put in the Derry coffin on 34 minutes when continuous Seapoint pressure allowed Keegan to drop another goal as Derry continually infringed at the breakdown going backwards and following the referee confirming the score he sent Derry’s Adam Bratton to the bin. The game was over as a contest with Seapoint leading by 29trs to 20pts and the only doubt was whether Derry could get a bonus point or two from a game in which they were the architects of their own downfall. In the end Derry got nothing from a game that at times they looked well capable of winning but in the conditions they were naïve in their play and did not produce enough physicality when it mattered. Derry are away to Trinity College in Dublin next Saturday in their next AIL Fixture and a win will be needed to get their season back on track.
City of Derry Team: : Chris Shields, Cathal Creggan, Gareth Beattie, Bob McKillop, Brian Prue, Stephen Corr, Richard Baird, Stephen Ferguson, Andrew Semple, Richard McCarter, Josh Lewis, Adam Parke, David Funston, Ryan Campbell . Replacements: Sam McAuley, Sam Duffy, Mark Walker, Richard Peoples, Adam Bratton.
