CITY OF ARMAGH RFC 18 CITY OF DERRY 6
City of Armagh played their second fixture in the Ulster Bank All Ireland League on Saturday when they faced City of Derry at the Palace Grounds. Armagh were looking to build upon their success from the previous week with the victory at Bective Rangers while City of Derry arrived looking for their first win of the season.
With the weather forecast predicting heavy rain all afternoon, both teams were delighted to start the match in near perfect conditions with a stiff breeze favouring the home team.
The visitors soon found themselves pinned in their own 22 as Armagh exerted early pressure.
A five metre scrum allowed number eight Neil Faloon to burst over for the game’s opening try after only six minutes. Outhalf Harvey Young, making his senior debut, converted a difficult kick to put Armagh ahead 7-0.
Further pressure from the home team resulted in a penalty and Young made no mistake from
in front of the posts. Another penalty to the home team allowed the outhalf to stretch Armagh’s lead to 13-0 on 25 minutes. Ten minutes before half time torrential rain arrived making conditions unpleasant for both players and spectators alike and the half-time whistle went with the score remaining 13-0 to the home team.
The second half commenced with City of Derry looking to get back into the match and their outhalf was able to pin Armagh back with some excellent kicking. An early penalty was converted by Derry player/coach, McCarter and the home team knew they had a tough encounter on their hands at 13-3.
The miserable wet conditions lead to difficult handling conditions for both teams and it was City of Derry who were having their best spell of the game. Good defence from Armagh kept their line intact and the back row of Morton, Birch and Faloon were creating turnovers to frustrate the visitors.
With 20 minutes remaining of a tense match, outhalf Young made a break into the Derry half and fed the ball to Chris Colvin who made further yards before passing to winger Ryan Purvis to finish off with a fine try. This was unconverted but Armagh now had a more comfortable lead at 18-3.
Armagh found themselves on the wrong end of the referee’s whistle and a series of penalties gave City of Derry the chance to get back into the match as they pushed for a try.
McCarter kicked his second penalty to make the score 18-6 and a yellow card to winger Andrew Willis put additional pressure on the home team but good defending held the visitors at bay.
In the final quarter, both teams tried to play running rugby but conditions got worse with more torrential rain for the final ten minutes and despite late Armagh pressure, the lady referee
called an end to the match with the scoreline remaining at Armagh 18, City of Derry 6.
Armagh’s coaching team were pleased with the victory against a resilient Derry team. One area of concern was Armagh’s indiscipline in the second half with too many penalties being conceded.
A tough fixture lies ahead on Saturday with a trip to Stevenson Park to play Dungannon with AIL points at stake and it is hoped a good crowd of supporters will cheer on the Armagh team.
