COOKSTOWN CRUSH MALONE IN THE CUP
The Keystone Lintels sponsored Cookstown got their McCambley Cup campaign off to a superb start with a comprehensive away victory over Malone 4ths. Cookstown were expecting a difficult tie against last season’s Butler Shield winners but following a dominant opening half, they easily advanced to the next round of the cup as they look to go one better than last season.
Last season’s finalists laid the foundations for victory with a fast start – establishing an early lead with 3 penalties in the opening 10 minutes. The first try wasn’t long in coming and was the culmination of numerous phases of possession with the carrying abilities of Owen Mallon, Chris Moore and Ciaran Hagan very much to the fore. Stephen McKenna was the man to get the try following a bit of juggling with the ball over the line. They try was converted for a 16-0 lead and that is how the half time score read as Malone managed to see out the half without losing any further ground.
Half Time: Malone 0 – Cookstown 16
The second half continued on in much the same vein as the first half with out-half Ciaran Currie pinning Malone in their own half where the Cookstown pack dominated their Malone counterparts. Captain Kezzy Nugent showed no ill effects of the previous night by getting the opening try of the half and when the evergreen Chris Moore belied his advancing years with a try from all of one yard out, it effectively ended the game as a contest. Cookstown weren’t finished yet though and further tries followed from Stephen McKenna with his second, Kezzy Nugent completed his hattrick and Ciaran McKenna also got into the act with a great finish from 40 yards out. The full time whistle sounded soon after to put the Malone men out of their misery as Cookstown secured a resounding victory.
Final Score: Malone 0 – Cookstown 56
Director of Rugby Liam Currie told the waiting reporters after the match, ‘This was more than a win but a fantastic performance. We concentrated on keeping our discipline at the breakdown forcing Malone to try and create something but the pressure of our line speed was too much and caused problems. The score line perfectly summed up the game in this respect.’ Stephen McKenna was the worthy recipient of this week’s Bobby Boucher award despite the protests from the captain who felt after his hattrick he should have got the award instead.
Cookstown will look forward to a home fixture in the 2nd round of the cup against Belfast Harlequins in the New Year. For now though Cookstowns focus returns to the league with an away fixture to Ballynahinch on Saturday 20th December.
