At the risk of appearing hopelessly biased or even delusional in the light of the scoreline, it is the firm view of this writer that this was a match that Randalstown could and probably even should have won.
Conditions were absolutely perfect, with a bone dry pitch and not even a breath of wind. The pitch had, however, a definite slope which favoured Randalstown in the first half. The Randalstown scrum was unrecognizable from recent weeks and the lineout functioned effectively. In the first half they also shaded the breakdown with Dan Wilson ever prominent. David Goodrich and William Montgomery dominated the midfield, and for forty minutes Enniskillen posed no significant threat, mainly kicking to the back three who were rock solid, or trying to carry through the forwards, which Randalstown always defends very well.
Enniskillen scored first with a penalty but shortly after they tried to move the ball and David Goodrich produced the most devastating tackle of the season to virtually dismember his opposite number and send the ball skidding backwards. The Randalstown pack pounced and Ian Hume finished with a neat swerve and sidestep to score near the posts. The momentum was now all with Randalstown and the pressure yielded three penalties as well as the conversion, which would have given a very solid foundation, but unfortunately Peter McCann, who had an otherwise excellent game, had a very rare off day with the boot. They were also very unlucky on a couple of occasions not to get another try. In the meantime the Enniskillen outhalf landed two more long range penalties to give them a half time lead 9 – 5, that even their supporters conceded was against the run of play.
In the second half the slope favoured Enniskillen and for a long time the exchanges were very even, although territorially Enniskillen were just edging it. The defining moment came when, for the first time the pack failed to stop a burst by the Enniskillen prop and conceded an unconverted try. A couple of minutes later the outhalf dropped a fine goal to make the score 17 – 5 and now the momentum switched entirely to Enniskillen. Randalstown defended staunchly but in injury time, when the game was gone, they conceded two tries.
In spite of the scoreline, this was a most encouraging performance against one of the top sides, definitely the best since the turn of the year and it gives every confidence that in spite of the horrendous injury toll, the team will do enough to stay up, which is what this season has been all about.
Finally, man of the match. You could name Dan Wilson before any game ever starts, but it was worth travelling to Enniskillen to see that David Goodrich tackle.
