The Maxol-sponsored Carrick 1st XV got their first competition win on Saturday 28th September when they beat LImavady by 10 points to 3 in a League match at Tom Simms Memorial Park. Following an excellent pre-match reception sponsored by Forever Living Products, Carrick seemed to carry their generosity as hosts onto the field, letting the visitors off the hook time and again in a first half in which the home side completely dominated territory and had more than their fair share of possession. Even in the second half, which Carrick again dominated, it was only in the closing stages that they made the match safe. The problem was, once again, a high penalty count, particularly in the first half and a tendency to turn the ball over in contact.
In a match played sunny but breezy conditions, Carrick played into the wind in the first half but, apart from the opening minutes, managed to confine Limavady to their own half for much of the time. The visitors started well, putting Carrick under pressure in the early scrums and, indeed taking the lead with a penalty after just two minutes. After the first five minutes or so the home side began to dominate territory but, despite creating a number of chances, Carrick could not get on the score-board. Typical was a chance on the half-hour mark when Carrick put a penalty into touch on the Limavady 22, won a free kick at the line-out, drove up to the line with Chris Rogers prominent and then, when it seemed they must score, knocked on! Shortly afterwards, they charged down an attempted clearance by the visitors and again drove up to the line but turned the ball over in contact. With several other promising situations leading nowhere, Carrick reached the break still trailling by 3 points to nil.
Five minutes into the first half, Carrick finally got their noses in front. Following a move off the back of a scrum, with Johnny Cullen making good ground, Carrick won a penalty close to the visitors’s line. They went to touch five metres out, secured the ball at the line-out and Ross Marsden drove over for the try in the corner. This was not converted but Carrick now led by 5 points to 3. In the following ten minutes or so, the hosts’ generosity appeared about to re-surface when Limavady were allowed to make a number of line-breaks, including one where a second row forward made thirty yards up to the Carrick line. This resulted in a penalty which, fortunately for the home side, was missed into the stiff breeze. After this, the home side re-asserted their territorial dominance, despite losing open-side Johnny Magill to injury after twenty minutes of the second half. A number of chances went begging though before Carrick got their second try with four minutes of normal time remaining, Following a scrum, winger Brian Alexander made a lot of ground into the Limavady 22 and, when the ball was re-cycled, prop Ryan McGonigle forced his way over in the corner. The try was not converted and Carrick held out comforably in injury time for their 10 points to 3 victory.
There was certainly enough in this game to suggest that Carrick could be a handful for most sides this season but they will have to cut out the silly penalties and do more to protect and retain possession when in attacking positions. For Carrick, Ross Marsden did well in the unfamiliar role of No 8, using his strenghth to keep hold of the ball when Carrick were under pressure at the scrum. Johnny Sheriff’s timing of the pass was good, nearly putting Johnny Cullen clear on one occasion, Andy McIlroy once again kicked well out of hand and Brian Alexander ran good lines and breached the defence on more than one occasion.
Next week, Carrick travel to Lisburn for another League game and will certainly want to build on, and improve, their performance against Limavady
The Carrick team which faced Limavady was:-
A. McIlroy; N. Hastings, J. Wady, J. Cullen, B. Alexander; J. Sheriff, K. Topping; A. Gibney, G. Baxter, R. McGonigle, A. Kincaid(Capt), C. Rogers, C. Rea, J.Magill, R. Marsden.
