Donaghadee welcomed high flying CI to Donaldson Park on Saturday with the home side keen to consolidate their position in the league after a string of good results.
CI started well using their strong, physical pack to good effect and within the first five minutes of play pressured Donaghadee’s line with an early score looking inevitable. The home side however weathered this early pressure and were able regain possession and clear their lines.
CI lost influential back row forward Ross Hackney to the sin bin on the 12th minute – and it proved a costly period for the away side as Donaghadee notched up a ten point lead, all points coming via Nigel Barker. A well taken penalty was followed by a fine try and conversion from Barker after Paul Blewitt fed Paul McKenzie who burst through the CI midfield to offload to his centre partner Barker.
Donagahdee added to their early score thanks to an industrious piece of play by wing forward Chris Hamilton. Hamilton showed a sound appreciation of the rules adjudging the ball was out of the base of the CI scrum and pounced on it, picking it up with ease, and as the away side appealed Hamilton surged into the CI 22. Hamilton fed the ball to his back row colleague Richard Millar who fed a delightful pass to the supporting Ryan Irvine who finished in the corner. Barker converted.
The remainder of the first half was played at a high tempo with both sides enjoying good spells of possession. CI were not however able to regain the structure and momentum in their game that allowed their pack to boss the opening stages of this game. As a result they had to settle for a David O’Hara penalty on the 31st minute for their first half efforts.
The second half appeared set for another close encounter with the away side more than capable of overcoming the two try deficit.
The Dee men however continued the, disciplined and physical performance they had shown in the first half with the back row unit for the home side outperforming their CI counterparts and offering a benchmark to which the rest of the Dee side matched.
Player/coach Stuart Hennessey’s recent performances must be acknowledged as a key part of this teams continued success as the ex-Ulster Junior prop forward stamps his authority in the set pieces whilst developing those around him such as Ali Barnes who is becoming a real asset to the junior game.
There were a number of key performers on the day but none more influential than Dee captain Ali Lockhart who led by example making key decisions at key times in the game. One such example was on the 52nd minute when not for the first time Dee capitalised from CI’s indecision at the base of the scrum and Lockhart kicked the loose ball into the CI 22. Although there was cover from the away side he collected the moving ball and his momentum took him over the try line for a fine solo effort.
Lockhart then turned provider in the 65th minute when his dummy created enough space for him to break away from his opposite number. He then fed the oncoming Millar who burst into the CI danger zone and had the awareness and ability to off load to the supporting Hamilton – a fine attack from Donaghadee and the try that ultimately put an end to the CI challenge and gave Donaghadee a bonus point win.
Like any good side CI continued to battle and although Donaghadee were clinical in their scoring efforts it was perhaps their defensive efforts that will earn most plaudits. At times when CI did break away from a tackler there was cover and desire from other Dee players, epitomised by a covering tackle made by Dee fullback Billy Allen on the 60th minute just as CI looked to have done enough to break down the defensive line. Allen not only halting the CI man’s progress but pushing play back by over 10 yards in the process.
There were exceptional defensive performances from Jack Cooke, Kalave Auali’itia and Richard Martindale who at times did the unglamorous type of work that often goes unseen but is vitally important in the balance of the game.
Donaghadee scored their fifth try of the day in injury time when substitute David Murray broke through the defence and offloaded to Nigel Barker to give him a 17 points total for the day leaving the Dee running out 32-3 winners.
This was as cohesive a performance as Donaghadee have produced this season and should give all involved a huge amount of confidence going into the final third of the season. With a number of home games to go including Clogher Valley and league leaders Portadown, those regular visitors to Donaldson Park appear to have lots to look forward to.
Scoops Man of the Match – Ali Lockhart
Donaghadee team: B.Allen ,C.Woods, N.Barker, P. McKenzie, R.Irvine, P. Blewitt, A. Lockhart (Captain), S.Hennessey,G.Gordon, A. Barnes, K. Aualiitia, J.Cooke, R.Martindale, C. Hamilton, R. Millar Subs: D.Murray, N. McCullough.
This incoming Saturday the Dee 1st XV travel to Dromore – kick off at Barban Hill is 2:30pm. Meanwhile the 2nd & 3rd XVs return to action with the former accompanying the 1st XV to Dromore to play the local second string and the latter entertaining PSNI II at Donaldson Park.
Donaghadee team: N.Barker,? ,R.Miller, P McKenzie, D.Devine,P Blewitt, A Lockhart, N McCullough, P.McCaughey, A Barnes, K Aualiitia, R Black,P.Hamilton, C Hamilton, R Martindale Subs: G.Gordon – A.Cash
