Carrick U15s met Lurgan U15s for the first time in the Ulster elite league and came away with a handsome 39 – 7 victory despite a number of variables conspiring against them.
CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF Carrick III XV v Dromore III Courtesy of Dale Loughridge
With transport arriving late, a snatched rather that structured warm up & an impatient referee Carricks preparation was not of the best. Added to that was the fact that rain had meant no session on Wednesday night at Tom Simms Memorial Park.
Carrick started with a bang posting two quick tries from Sam Wallace & Dylan McDowell & then proceeded to play as if a dream sequence where everything was in slow motion, languid & “love and peace man”.
Missing for periods was the ferocious ball carrying, the slick execution of backs moves at high pace & the 100% commitment usually shown by this group.
There are always reasons and one of them was that the contact zone being allowed to descend to the Bryce Lawrence School of anarchy. It became a dogfight wrapped up in a lottery but there were no winners as the game slid from slow to walking pace to dead stop.
Carrick however to their credit tried to break out of this malaise & swept up field on two occasions freeing up the ball & maintaining continuity for a further two tries from Jamie Craig & Corrie Kelly blasting over from close range, cancelling out Lurgans solitary & ultimately consolation short range effort.
Stern words from coaches Dickson & McTeggart at halftime exhorted their charges to more physicality & continuity for the second half & a promise that replacements would be given an opportunity to show their wares.
A rejuvenated Carrick team took the initiative in the second half & played out a half of increased possession & territorial supremacy.
More pace more commitment & more skill was shown with first of all Jake porter scoring & then replacements Aaron Rea & Jordan Devenney getting touchdowns.
Owen Hunter making his competitive debut showed promise & a high work rate. Rory Magill in a cameo performance took a ball against the head at scrum time, put in a thundering tackle & provided a well timed link pass to the backs all in the space of 2 minutes.
There were many pleasing facets of this game & none more so that the steady stream of set piece ball from scrum & lineout where the front row, second & back rows worked superbly in their units & sub units.
A fantastically high degree of handling skill was shown as usual from the backs with the ball hitting the wings & some superb support running on the inside channels.
Lots still to work on & with the Ballymoney fixture next week being designated a 3rd Years game there will be lots of opportunity for the emerging talent to be showcased & for the seniors to get a Geography lesson & some bench time.
Scorers : Sam Wallace T Cons2 ,Dylan McDowell T , Jamie Craig T , Corrie Kelly T Jake Porter T , Aaron Rea T , Jordan Devenney T .
