The Maxol-sponsored Carrick 1st XV lost their Towns’ Cup quarter-final when they were beaten by 22 points to nil by Donaghadee away at Donaldson Park on Saturday 14 February. Played in almost perfect conditions for rugby, this was a firecely contested game, despite the final score-line, and for the forst twenty-five minutes lt looked as though Carrick were the Section 1 side rather than the other way round. However, Carrick could not put points on the board when they had the ascendency and the home team wrested control way from them in the last fifteen minutes of the first half and never really relinquished it in the second period. Carrick were to some degree the authors of their own misfortune, allowing themselves to get drawn into an arm-wrestle with the strong Donaghadee pack, particularly in the second half, and perhaps resorting to the boot rather too often, a tactic which merely handed the ball back to their opponents. The visitors did at times seem dominant in the scrum and the line-out functioned reasonably well but there is no doubt that after the first half hour the home side were masters at the break-down, winning turn-overs and, particularly, slowing down Carrick possession. This, for a side which thrives on quick ball, ;largely nullified Carrick’s attacking threat. For the most part, the Carrick defence was solid and there was a touch of misfortune about two of the Donaghadee tries but the pressure they put on Carrick, particularly in the second half, was bound to tell in the end.For Carrick there were good performances from Robbie Williams as a stand-in blind-side flanker and from his two back-row colleagues Ross Marsden and Curtis Rea. Mark Davidson impressed when he came on as a substitute in the back row. Kenny Topping and Jason Wady kicked well in the first half when Carrick had a measure of control and Wady, Johnny Sheriff and Johnny Cullen defended bravely when under pressure.
Carrick started strongly and came close to scoring with an early line-out catch and drive but lost control of the ball at the vital stage. They had another similaer chance after fifteen minutes when they caught and drove and released to the backs where Johnny Cullen ran an excellent line to set up a series of attacking rucks but the Donaghadee defence was solid and again Carick lost control of the ball. The visitors continued to keep their opponents under pressure, aided by some good kicking out of hand by Kenny Topping and Jason Wady. The home side did not mount their first attack until twenty-five minutes into the game but, when they did, it was the begining of their taking control of the game. They had Carrick under a lot of pressure for the last ten minutes of the half and it is to the visitors’ credit that Donaghadee did not manage to put any points on the board at this stage.
The hosts did not wait long after the break before making their pressure tell and after three minutes scored the first try of the game. After running the ball out of defence, they re-cycled, moved left and, when a Carrick player went for the intercept and didn’t make it, they breached the line and touched down near the posts. The try was converted to give Donaghadee a 7 points to nil lead. Despite being more or less in control of territory and possession though they found it hard to break down the Carrick defence and the latter were somewhat unfortunate when Ross Marsden appeared to have breached the Donaghadee defensive line but was called back for a forward pass which was marginal to say the least.However, after twenty minutes of the half, the home side extended their lead with a penalty kick and they held this lead with increasing comfort until the thirty-fifth minute of the half when an attempted miss pass by Carrick just outside the visitors’ 22 was interecepted and the home side’s scrum-half ran in unopposed under the posts. Again the try was converted and, with time running out, Donaghadee added to their total when they won the race to touch down a grubber kick through the Carrick defence. This try was not converted, leaving the final score at 22 points to nil in Donaghadee’s favour.
This was a brave performance by Carrick against a strong Section 1 side and the final score perhaps flattered the home side to a degree. It is back to League action this Saturday when second-placed Carrick play host to League leaders Omagh in a match which could go some way towards deciding who wins Section 2 of the Qualifying League.
The Carrick team against Donaghadee was:-
J. Wady; N.Hastings(C. Cambridge), J. Cullen(Capt), J. Sheriff, P. Simpson; A. McKinney, K. Topping; A. Gibney, N. Hanna, M. Smiley(M. Davidson),A. Kinkaid, C. Rodgers, R. Williams, R. Marsden, C. Rea.
