Ballymoney 2 31 – 7 Dungannon 3XV
A poor performance by the IIIs in their opening game of the season. They were very rusty and lacked sufficient possession to pose a serious threat to Ballymoney. Andrew Girvan was the outstanding player in the Dungannon pack with Jake Finlay and Paul Cashel the pick of the backs. The first ten minutes were dominated by much aimless kicking and it was no surprise when Ballymoney’s influential scrum half Jonny Linton used his head and went over beside the posts, James Campbell added the extras. Campbell followed up with three penalties in the twentieth, twenty-sixth and twenty-eighth minutes before fullback John Laughlin finished off a good back movement with Campbell converting superbly from the touchline to put Ballymoney 23 points ahead. Dungannon improved somewhat, running the ball at their opponents and this tactic carried on into the second half. Ballymoney turned over possession and James Campbell converted a penalty from straight in front after fifty minutes. Dungannon kept up the imitative and were rewarded on the hour. It looked as though whitewash fever ruled again and the opportunity was lost but that ace poacher Simon Potter popped over for the try converted by Colin Gibson. Dungannon kept on pressing but when reduced to thirteen men Ballymoney’s Sandy McCauley took advantage of the extra numbers to sprint away for a try. Gannon finished with twelve men when a player was binned but fortunately Ballymoney did not add to their score. A very forgettable Dungannon performance. Let us hope for an improvement against Lisburn next week. Team: Ben Kennedy. Brian Simpson, Timothy Potter, Colin Gibson, Peter Cashel. Gareth Graham, Jake Finlay. Ally Moore, Daniel Maxwell, Neil McGinley. Stuart Barron (Capt), Gareth McMullan. Tristan Hutton, Simon Potter, Andrew Girvan. Tries: Simon Potter Conversions: Colin Gibson Referee: Brian Lyle
Dungannon 4XV 8 – 22 Limavady 2
This was a spirited performance by an inexperienced IV XV against a very experienced Limavady squad. Six of the Dungannon team, Neville Simpson, John Condy, Aidan Hanna, Daniel Cechowiez, Gordon Stewart and Keith Moore were playing their first game of adult rugby and Darren Treanor and James Turkington were only playing their third game of adult rugby. Thankfully the senior men, Stephen Donaghy, Philip Hall with that rock of a man Plunkett McCallon were there to lead by example and ensure that the less experienced players were not intimidated. Dungannon stated well with Stephen Donaghy and Gordon Stewart making good ground. However the Limavady pack soon took over allowing their backs to run patterns that our 2 XV would have been proud of. After sixteen minutes Limavady scored a fine try. This was followed four minutes later with a move that started with a double miss pass and ended with a cracking try out wide. That score was converted as was a magnificent try scored after twenty-four minutes giving the visitors a 24 – 0 lead after an eight minute three try blitz. Things were looking bleak but Captain Donaghy rallied his troops and they didn’t to let him down especially the eighteen year olds, Stewart and Condy. Dungannon burst into life, Adam Boyle took a quick tap, Andrew Caddoo and Philip Hall made good ground before the ball reached Donaghy. Big Stephen beat a few players and was left with the fullback to beat. Referee Reilly was closing in for the impact in case of a spill. However whilst the Dungannon supporters were aware of Stephen’s abilities the Limavady contingent were not, a beautiful sidestep left the 15 for dead and Stephen touched down beside the posts. Questions are still being asked about how the normally reliable Plunkett missed the simple conversion. A few minutes later he made amends with a magnificent forty-five metre penalty to close the score to 17 – 8 in the Visitor’s favour. Dungannon carried their good efforts into the second half. Unfortunately mid way through the half Limavady broke away to score an unconverted try. This sealed the victory for Limavady but Dungannon kept on playing and a late run from Gordon Stewart was only stopped by a solid tackle from the fullback. This was a heartening show from a scratch team and in addition to the fifteen players much praise should be given to Gareth McMullan and Julian Knipe who worked tirelessly to get the boys out. Team: Alan Cummings. Darren Treanor, Cormac Convery, Philip Hall, Neville Simpson. Andrew Caddoo, John Condy. Aidan Hanna, Daniel Cechowicz, James Turkington. Gordon Stewart, Plunkett McCallon. Keith Moore, Adam Boyle, Stephen Donaghy (Capt). Referee: Declan Reilly (Newry) Tries: Stephen Donaghy Conversions: Penalties: Plunkett McCallon
