Malone 2 show great team spirit to defeat Dungannon 2 by 22-28
Malone 2nd XV traveled to Dungannon on Saturday hoping to avenge the 1st XV’s previous evenings defeat .
Dungannon started the strongest and quickly went into a 10 nil lead following an early penalty and then a converted try.
Malone however didn’t panic and played with great composure and patience to force a kickable penalty in the Dungannon 22. Instead of taking the easy three points captain Max Porter showed his faith in the team electing to kick to the corner. The lineout was taken and following drives from Frazer Wilson and Gary Crawford the ball was quickly moved to the back line were Willy Herron crashed through the Dungannon defence after a great off load from Jay Malcolm . The conversion was successful from Lorcan McGillan.
From the restart Malone found great field position with clearing kicks from outhalf Bruce Duff and full back McGillan who followed up on the great control from the pack with Luke Creigton particularly impressive.
Following a Malone scrum no 8 Peter Rodgers found Scrum half Jack Mcmurtry who weighted the perfect pass to full back McGillan who fed on to winger Conor Henry to go over for a outstanding try. The conversion was successful again from McGillan.
Playing with great confidence Malone again showed their ability with ball in hand. Following a series of big carries from Conor Kelly and Stuart Currie the ball was shifted back down the blind side to Conleith McGillan who timed his pass perfectly to prop Gary Crawford who side stepped inside the Dungannon winger for another outstanding try. Full back McGillan was successful with the conversion again.
Halftime 21 10.
Dungannon showed excellent spirit and commitment and took the game to Malone straight from the second half whistle . They deservedly scored a converted try to bring them right back into the match.
The next score was going to be important and Malone pressed hard to make sure it was them that got it. Peter Rodgers was held up just short after a storming run while winger Simon Millar almost got away after excellent handling in the backs.
It was however that 8 , 9 , 15 combination which worked again for the Red Sox. With Rodgers feeding Mcmurtry who passed on to McGillan who showed impressive pace and footwork to beat several defenders to score . He converted is own score to extend Malones lead to 28 17 going into the last quarter.
Dungannon came back strongly again and threw everything at the Malone line. Time and again The Cregagh Road men held firm with outstanding defence from the whole team with Max Porter leading from the front . However following a series of penalties Malone were reduced to 13 men with both Bruce Duff and Willy Herron receiving yellow cards within seconds of each other.
Numbers eventually told with Dungannon scoring in the corner to make it a very nervous last ten mins with only a converted try separating the teams.
Despite continuous Dungannon pressure Malones defence held firm with ever player placing their bodies on the line to keep the opposition out to record a fine away win.
Every player played their part in a outstanding team performance.
Team
15 Lorcan McGillan
14 Simon Millar
13 Willy Herron
12 Jay Malcolm
11 Conor Henry
10 Bruce Duff
9 Jack McMurtry
8 Peter Rodgers
7 Max Porter Capt
6 Conleith McGillan
5 Stuart Currie
4 Luke Creigton
3 Gary Crawford
2 Conor Kelly
1 Frazer Wilson
