The Maxol-sponsored Carrick 1st XV won their first round Junior Cup match away against Randalstown by 27 points to 12 on Saturday 13th October. Having been beaten by the same side in the League in mid-September, Carrick, with a number of changes in personnel from the previous week, did well to put the memories of their earlier defeat behind them and, apart from the second quarter and the first ten minutes of the second half, pretty much dominate the match. That said, it was once again a mixed performance, with a lot of handling errors and a number of lapses in concentration. This was evident in the scrum, which Carrick mostly dominated but which , on occasion, seemed to come under pressure for no good reason For Carrick, there were storming performances in the loose from No 8 Ryan McGonigle and hooker Glen Baxter, the latter putting in a number of big hits and both carrying strongly. Andy Kincaid and Mark Ferris were also prominent as a ball carriers and in defence. In the backs, Karl Love ran some good lines and deserved his two tries, the second of which was the best of the match.
Carrick had the worst possible start when they lost out-half Johnny Sheriff to injury after just five minutes. This required some re-jigging of the back line, with sub Reece Hamilton coming onto the wing, Kyle Jordan moving to full-back and Andy McIlroy going to out-half. Despite this, the visitors coped well and deservedly took the lead after ten minutes when scrum-half and Captain Aaron McKinney raced over following a series of picks and drives close to the Randalstown line. Andy McIroy added the conversion points.After this, Carrick’s error count began to mount and they allowed their opponents right back into the game. On twenty minutes, Randalstown ran scrum ball from half-way and were allowed to make easy ground into the Carrick 22 where they re-cycled and their inside centre went over. The try was not converted, leaving Carrick in the lead by 7 points to 5. Following a very scrappy second quarter, with a lot of errors from both sides, this remained the score at half-time.
The errors continued in the early part of the second half and, in an almost comical moment, the home side scored when a forward picked up at a complete mess of a ruck close to the Carrick line and was able to walk over unopposed. The try was converted to give the home side the lead for the first time. After this though, the visitors began to take control, dominating possession and playing most of the game in Randalstown territory. In the seventeenth minute of the half, they drew level with a fine team try finished off by Karl Love. Following a line-out catch and drive, Baxter and Kincaid carried the ball up to the Randalstown line, Mckinney moved the ball left and a well timed pass from Jason Wady put Love in at the corner. The try was not converted. Ten minutes later, Carrick regained the lead when the impressive Ryan McGonigle charged towards the line off the back of a scrum and, when the ball was re-cycled and transferred quickly by Wady and Moore, was on hand to take the final pass and go over . Again the try was not converted but, with five minutes of normal time remaining, Andy McIlroy but over a penalty to stretch Carrick’s lead to 20 points to 12. Then, deep in injury time, Karl Love ran a beautiful line to take a pass from McKinney and go over near the posts.McIlroy added the points to make the final score 27 points to 12 in Carrick’s favour.
Again, a satisfying win but a lot for Warren McLean and his coaches to work on. That said, with quite a few enforced changes from the victory over Limavady the previous week, it was hardly surprising that there woul be some problems with organisation and communication.Next week, Carrick return to League action when they face Lisburn at Tom Simms Memorial Park.
The Carrick team which faced Randalstown was;
A. McIlroy; K. Jordan, A. Moore, J. Wady, K. Love; J. Sheriff(R.Hamilton), A. McKinney(Capt); R.Williams, G. Baxter, J. McIlwaine(E. McBrien), M. Patterson. A. Kincaid, M. Ferris, N. Hannah, R. McGonigle.
Also on Saturday, the Carrick youth sides had mixed fortunes against Banbridge at Tom Simms Memorial Park. The Under 15s had a comprehensive 46 points to nil victory but the Under 17s lost by 17 points to 14 while the Under 13s drew 27 points apiece with their opponents.
Fixtures for Saturday 20th October are:
1st XV vs Lisburn, home
2nd XV vs Lisburn II, home
The Maxol-sponsored Carrick 1st XV won their first round Junior Cup match away against Randalstown by 27 points to 12 on Saturday 13th October. Having been beaten by the same side in the League in mid-September, Carrick, with a number of changes in personnel from the previous week, did well to put the memories of their earlier defeat behind them and, apart from the second quarter and the first ten minutes of the second half, pretty much dominate the match. That said, it was once again a mixed performance, with a lot of handling errors and a number of lapses in concentration. This was evident in the scrum, which Carrick mostly dominated but which , on occasion, seemed to come under pressure for no good reason For Carrick, there were storming performances in the loose from No 8 Ryan McGonigle and hooker Glen Baxter, the latter putting in a number of big hits and both carrying strongly. Andy Kincaid and Mark Ferris were also prominent as a ball carriers and in defence. In the backs, Karl Love ran some good lines and deserved his two tries, the second of which was the best of the match.
Carrick had the worst possible start when they lost out-half Johnny Sheriff to injury after just five minutes. This required some re-jigging of the back line, with sub Reece Hamilton coming onto the wing, Kyle Jordan moving to full-back and Andy McIlroy going to out-half. Despite this, the visitors coped well and deservedly took the lead after ten minutes when scrum-half and Captain Aaron McKinney raced over following a series of picks and drives close to the Randalstown line. Andy McIroy added the conversion points.After this, Carrick’s error count began to mount and they allowed their opponents right back into the game. On twenty minutes, Randalstown ran scrum ball from half-way and were allowed to make easy ground into the Carrick 22 where they re-cycled and their inside centre went over. The try was not converted, leaving Carrick in the lead by 7 points to 5. Following a very scrappy second quarter, with a lot of errors from both sides, this remained the score at half-time.
The errors continued in the early part of the second half and, in an almost comical moment, the home side scored when a forward picked up at a complete mess of a ruck close to the Carrick line and was able to walk over unopposed. The try was converted to give the home side the lead for the first time. After this though, the visitors began to take control, dominating possession and playing most of the game in Randalstown territory. In the seventeenth minute of the half, they drew level with a fine team try finished off by Karl Love. Following a line-out catch and drive, Baxter and Kincaid carried the ball up to the Randalstown line, Mckinney moved the ball left and a well timed pass from Jason Wady put Love in at the corner. The try was not converted. Ten minutes later, Carrick regained the lead when the impressive Ryan McGonigle charged towards the line off the back of a scrum and, when the ball was re-cycled and transferred quickly by Wady and Moore, was on hand to take the final pass and go over . Again the try was not converted but, with five minutes of normal time remaining, Andy McIlroy but over a penalty to stretch Carrick’s lead to 20 points to 12. Then, deep in injury time, Karl Love ran a beautiful line to take a pass from McKinney and go over near the posts.McIlroy added the points to make the final score 27 points to 12 in Carrick’s favour.
Again, a satisfying win but a lot for Warren McLean and his coaches to work on. That said, with quite a few enforced changes from the victory over Limavady the previous week, it was hardly surprising that there woul be some problems with organisation and communication.Next week, Carrick return to League action when they face Lisburn at Tom Simms Memorial Park.
The Carrick team which faced Randalstown was;
A. McIlroy; K. Jordan, A. Moore, J. Wady, K. Love; J. Sheriff(R.Hamilton), A. McKinney(Capt); R.Williams, G. Baxter, J. McIlwaine(E. McBrien), M. Patterson. A. Kincaid, M. Ferris, N. Hannah, R. McGonigle.
Also on Saturday, the Carrick youth sides had mixed fortunes against Banbridge at Tom Simms Memorial Park. The Under 15s had a comprehensive 46 points to nil victory but the Under 17s lost by 17 points to 14 while the Under 13s drew 27 points apiece with their opponents.
Fixtures for Saturday 20th October are:
1st XV vs Lisburn, home
2nd XV vs Lisburn II, home
