Grosvenor 4th XV took on Malone 5th XV on the hallowed turf of the big pitch at Belmont. A deluge just before kick-off made conditions slippy underfoot and a strong wind was blowing behind Grosvenor. The home side started well and scored after five minutes when Phil Egner gathered a loose clearance kick, drew the defence and slipped a neat pass to Andy Lockard who went in for the try. Five minutes later centre Ben Wilson shook off a few would be tacklers on half-way and sprinted in for a fantastic solo effort. Malone rallied as the match progressed but stout defending by Grosvenor kept them out. As half-time appraoched the Malone centre made a super break and weaved his way to the line from fifty metres out for a super try. Half time 12-5.
Grosvenor were now playing into a strengthening wind and their caused was not helped when captain Mark Brown was yellow carded after five minutes for a touch of Tourettes. However they managed to string together a few impressive passages of play and were unlucky on a few occasions not to score. Matty Webb and new boy Rory at full-back had a few stand-out moments with some neat handling in attack while Mikey Morris made a few rampaging runs after coming on as an impact substitute. Malone missed a few scoring opportunities themselves and the game was closely contested until ten minutes from time when Andy Kenny dived on a loose ball to score under the posts. 19-5. Grosvenor added another try before full-time to secure a fine 26-5 victory.
Man of the match was Robin Coates.
Cartmill Clogher Hat Trick
Grosvenor 3rds made it six wins on the trot with a splendid 39-5 league victory at Clogher Valley.
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The victory keeps Grosvenor at the top of Junior 5 and was notable for hooker Mark Cartmill scoring three tries. Mark upheld the Grosvenor tradition of hat trick scorers by buying a jug of beer afterwards!
Grosvenor 3rd XV Coach and keen DIY enthusiast Neily Robertson is naturally delighted with his young side’s start to the season “I’m so happy I think I’ll go home and paper my chimney breast.”
