Lisburn fall to the ‘Dee
At Blaris last Saturday the Corus sponsored Lisburn fell in the final quarter to a strong finishing Donaghadee challenge which saw them rack up three tries to claim the points in this entertaining and hard-fought Qualifying 2 League game. The Dee pressed hard from the opening whistle but despite territorial advantage they failed to collect any points until the 15th minute when a simple penalty opened the score. They had already missed two kickable opportunities. Mark Crothers replied with a similar effort almost from the restart. Lisburn now came well into the game and Crothers was unlucky to see another long range penalty bounce back off the crossbar on the twenty minute mark. He did, however, give the home side the lead shortly afterwards with another three pointer.
Lisburn were playing very well in the loose at this stage of the game and winning their lineouts consistently. The strong Dee front row sometimes had the home pack in difficulties but to their credit, Lisburn mostly held their own in this area. Coaches Bruce Cornelius and Mark Crothers, along with Captain Chris Kidd, gathered the troops at the interval and within ten minutes of the restart the teams had again swapped penalties to leave Lisburn maintaining the narrow 9-6 lead.
However, at the start of the final quarter, a backline attack by the visitors saw a quick chip over the Lisburn defence and their speedy left winger was able to run onto the ball and score. 9-11 to the Dee. Ten minutes later, a mangled clearance under the Lisburn posts saw Donaghadee put fierce pressure on the home scrum and they went in to score a fine try which, when converted, gave the Dee a 9-18 lead. With their tails now up Donaghadee began to run regularly at the Lisburn defence which cracked again with the left winger running in on an overlap. Both teams tried hard in the final minutes of the game to get another try which would give them a bonus point but each failed.
So, Donaghadee maintain their challenge for the League with a well-earned victory and Lisburn look to their next game against League leaders CIYMS next Saturday at Belmont. The 2nd XV, following their fine win over Ballynahinch 4s last Saturday, seek to maintain their good form with a challenging assignment against Banbridge 3s at Blaris. The 3rd XV are away to Ballyclare.
