KUKRI QUALIFYING ONE Donaghadee 18 Ballymoney 39 (by Jonathan Martindale)
Donaghadee returned to Donaldson Park last Saturday after a fiercely battled league contest against CI at Belmont where they left taking their fair share of positives from a bonus point loss.
Indeed, with a number of key personnel still missing from the forward pack it was a further opportunity for the younger members of the Donaghadee squad to experience 1st XV club rugby.
Both teams registered early scores with Nigel Barker cancelling out Ballymoney’s early penalty strike.
Donaghadee enjoyed the dominant share of possession in the first quarter of the game playing a high tempo style of play. However for all the possession they enjoyed they were starved of any real space by a defensively effective Ballymoney outfit.
It was an intelligent kick deep into the visitors half by Captain Ali Lockhart in the 26th minute that created the first platform for Donaghadee to attack the Ballymoney line.
From the resulting phase of play the home side secured possession and Paul McKenzie surged forward only for an excellent tackle to prevent him from crossing the try line. The supporting David Murray did well to continue the momentum of the move before Chris Good picked the ball up and powered over the line for his second try in two outings. Barker converted to give Dee a 10 -3 lead.
The lead was short lived and after a horribly scrappy phase of play from Donaghadee at the restart Ballymoney secured the ball through a number of phases of play eventually slicing through the disorientated Dee defence for an unconverted try.
Barker looked to have offered Donaghadee a 13-8 interval lead with a well taken penalty from distance however Ballymoney scored a late first half try when they exploited the Dee blindside to score their second try of the day courtesy of Jonny Hanna. The conversion was successful to give the visitors a 2 point advantage.
Half Time – Donaghadee 13 – Ballymoney 15
Ballymoney added to their lead with an emphatic start to the second half scoring two further tries and a penalty without reply to build a 19 point lead and ultimately secure a bonus point win with a quarter of the game still to play.
At this level of club rugby experience on the field of play is a core asset and the home side, without playing particularly poorly, simply did not have enough experience in key positions to mount a serious challenge in the second period.
The Ballymoney team in contrast had a wealth of experience led by club stalwart Jonathan Hanna who led a committed performance from the travelling pack who in turn secured excellent ball to allow their exciting backline to dominate, often with the effective boot of Campbell.
To add to a frustrating afternoon one of Donaghadee’s brightest performers on the day Lockhart suffered what appeared to be a harsh sin binning on the 65th minute for being adjudged to have illegally upended Ballymoney winger Nevin.
Donaghadee finished the game strongly with substitute Gareth Gordon bringing his experience to good use and a powerful display from Tony Brown in the final quarter.
In the 70th minute the home side got their reward for this effort when Rory Garnham fed a scoring pass to Ryan Irvine who touched down in the corner.
Ballymoney however left Donaldson Park having had the final say with their fifth try of the day much to the delight of their strong travelling support.
Donaghadee team:-
M Cooper – R Garnham – A Findlater – N Barker – R Irvine – P McKenzie – A Lockhart – D Murray – P Stevenson – J Cheshire – P Collins – K Morrow – C Good – M Ellis – A Torrans Subs (G Gordon – T Brown)
Scoops Man of the Match – A Findlater
THIS WEEK
Cup competition starts this season when Donaghadee 1st XV travel to Banbridge for Round Two of the Millar McCall Wylie Junior Cup – the Dee got a bye in Round One due to their involvement once again in this season’s All Ireland Junior Cup. The 2nd & 3rd XVs travel to Academy II and Ballynahinch VI respectively for fulfil league fixtures. All games kick off at 2:30pm and all support would be most welcome.
ALL IRELAND JUNIOR CUP
Donaghadee have been rewarded for qualifying for the All Ireland Junior Cup with a home draw against Dundalk. Although this is the second year in a row that the Dee have taken part in this prestigious competition this is the first time they have been fortunate enough to have been drawn at home as last season they travelled firstly to Ballina where they overcame the local side before losing away narrowly to Co. Wicklow side Enniscorthy who then went on to defeat Clogher Valley before meeting eventual winners Tullamore in the final. The game is scheduled for Saturday 26th October 2013 with a 2:30pm kick-off & the Club look forward to welcoming the Dundalk men who have been flying high in Leinster Junior One this season. More details concerning the plans for the day will appear here closer to the time.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
All members are reminded that subscriptions are now well overdue. Please contact either Paul Blewitt or Chris Good or visit the Club Website for details of the various methods available to effect payment at http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/donaghadeerugbyclub/
