Donaghadee’s reward for their defeat of Ballina in the last round of the Irish Junior Cup was an away trip to County Wexford to play Enniscorthy in the quarter –finals.
Played under floodlights because of a late lick-off time and with the locals out in force to join the strong Donaghadee following it made for a great atmosphere at the ground. CLICK HERE for the superb shots from the bar afterwards – when Dee tour they bring the clubhouse with them!
The first quarter of the game was played at a good tempo with both teams keen to use their back-line at every opportunity. Donaghadee produced some useful breaks but were unable to retain possession in dangerous areas for long periods of play.
The Ennicorthy out-half was the home sides most influential player at this time using his effective right boot to both put Dee on the back foot and relieve pressure from his own line.
Mid-way through the first half Donaghadee were enjoying their best period of play with Paul McKenzie and captain Ali Lockhart looking the most likely to break through the home defence. On the 22nd minute Donaghadee had their first attempt at goal after a long period of pressure deep in the Ennicorthy half, however Nigel Barker pushed the difficult kick to the right hand side of the upright.
Not taking points during this dominant spell was to prove costly and on the 25th minute the home side scored the first points of the game in unfortunate circumstances for the Dee. Winger Marcus Gibson had gone to ground to receive treatment for a calf injury that resulted in the end of his game, however play continued as Gibson received treatment and from a set piece the home side spotted the opportunity of an overlap and executed it to perfection scoring on the left flank.
Although the conversion was missed Ennicorthy put their noses further in front on the 30th minute with a try Donagahdee will have been disappointed to concede. First time tackling was not what it should have been and from a reasonably harmless looking attack the home side were able to crash over the line for two tries in a five minute spell. The conversion was successful to give Enniscorthy a 12-0 lead.
Dee responded well to this second setback and came very close to crossing the line with Lockhart going on a trademark scurry but was eventually caught just short of the line. Player/coach McKenzie also came close after being fed by Richard Martindale on the 37th minute. On the half-time whistle Dee did get points on the board courtesy of a Barker penalty.
The second half did not disappoint with both teams evidently full of desire to secure the semi-final place on offer. Donaghadee enjoyed much the better of possession in the early stages of the second period but were unable to create any clear scoring opportunities with the defensive wall of the home side disciplined and well organised.
Enniscorthy extended their lead on the 52nd minute with a penalty kick from 3Om however as the game appeared to be slipping from the Dee the home side were reduced to 14 men for repeat infringing. With twenty minutes to go this was clearly Donaghadee’s key opportunity to turn possession into points.
Although there was no shortage of endeavour and individual enterprise during this period of an additional player the final ball was simply not good enough to put sustained pressure on the Enniscorthy line and time eventually ran out for Donaghadee.
The superb Chris Hamilton got a late try for Donaghadee that was no less than he and his team deserved in injury time, Hamilton finishing on the right wing position after excellent work from the Dee pack. The conversion was unsuccessful to give Enniscorthy a Full Time 15-8 victory.
Dee will be slightly frustrated that on another day with more clinical finishing they could of capitalised better on the possession they enjoyed. Donaghadee have competed well in their All-Ireland adventure this season and with the strong travelling support they have shown the excitement that this cup competition continues to create.
This week the fixtures are as follows:
1st XV – away to UUC in Qualifying League One.
2nd XV – home to Larne II in a re-arranged Crawford Cup First Round game.
3rd XV – home to Holywood III in Minor East One.
Please note that whist the two home games kick off at 2:30pm the 1st XV game at Coleraine has a 2:00pm start time.
The Club will be open from 1pm on Boxing Day for the usual festivities including the annual Exiles game – kick-off 2pm.
Finally please make every effort to get you “Your Club, Your Country” competition forms from the usual suspects or behind the bar and if anyone has any outstanding annual subscriptions please leave them behind the bar in a sealed envelope marked for the attention of Gavin Wallace.
