Armagh Seconds take the derby spoils
Armagh seconds played Dungannon seconds on Friday night in the junior derby prelude, with the senior teams meeting on Saturday. The game was played in steady rain throughout and it was a credit to both teams that they made light of the conditions to play entertaining rugby. The Armagh forwards won steady possession in the early stages with David Spratt and Kyle Faloon combining well at 9 and 10 to set the home backline in motion. After several drives into the Dungannon 22, Matthew Campbell, broke through a tackle and then after making more ground, stretched over for a good try at the posts . With the conversion by Kyle, the home team had an early 7-0 lead. After Dungannon replied with a penalty, the Armagh forwards battled hard for possession through Sleator, Lutton and Captain Gareth McNeice. After a ruck close to the line Spratt darted though untouched at the posts for a converted try, 14-3 to Armagh. The second half continued in the same vain with Armagh’s backline eager for work. Faloon added a penalty to increase the lead to 17-3, however it wasn’t until late in the game that the move of the night led to a superb try in the corner. With Con Oliver making good inroads into the visiting defence all evening, quick ruck ball to Faloon saw him pop the ball back inside for winger Luke Crozier to burst through the centre. When tackled by the Dungannon fullback, he cleverly offloaded to Robbie Faloon who raced over at the corner flag. With the final score of 22-3 to Armagh, the hard work on the training pitch is evident as fitness levels were impressive considering this was the team’s first game of the season.
