Srabane 2nd XV continued their fine form with a victory over old rivals City of Derry at the meadows on Saturday 9th October. Derry started the better team with Strabane seemingly still in the changing room. They deservedly went ahead with the first try of the game(converted) after ten minutes which was the end result of some woeful tackling by the Strabane defence. This seemed to be the wakeup call Strabane needed as they started to apply pressure and enter into the Derry 22 for the first time, with some fine kicking by Simon Maxwell. This continued pressure was to result in Strabane’s first try when Maxwell passed the ball back inside to Stephen Campbell (fullback) who found himself in acres of space and dived over to the delight of his team mates (Converted). Strabane continued to apply pressure on Derry for the rest of the half. Mark Gordon, JK, and Stuart Gamble scrumaged well at the front and Mal controlled things at the back. The scrum was to be the platform for the second try with a good move down the blind side which ended with Chris Holden diving in on the corner for a well taken try. This was again followed up by a majestic conversion from the touchline by Maxwell. Strabane by this stage were well on top, with a penalty from Maxwell and a third try which came from good pressure by the second row Gordy Baird. As the Derry player fumbled, Baird kicked the ball for the try line and showed a good turn of speed to get there first (converted). As the Derry heads dropped the Strabane 2nd XV continued to turn the screw with a counter attack by Warnock from a failed Derry clearance and finished off by Chris Hamilton after two quick phases of play for a well deserved try(Converted).
This was to be the final score, a score that delighted the players and supporters alike. It was another outstanding display by the team, confidence is high with four wins from four games. Again some of the refereeing decisions could have been questioned even though Crawford McCann did his best to keep him on the right path.
Training seems to be kicking in, and this can be seen in attack and defence with tries scored by backs and forwards in equal amounts. These fine performances have certainly created a good feeling around the club and Simon Maxwell has even been quoted as saying that rugby is now “borderline enjoyable” Everybody played their part and the club should be in good hands if the young players are anything to go by as Young and Mealiff came off the bench to impress again.
