Randalstown 1st XV 55 Dungannon 2nd XV 17 (Section 2 conference league)
The walls of fortress Neillsbrook were visibly strengthened on Saturday as a rampant Randalstown comprehensively outgunned Dungannon and stormed to a 55 -17 win in a lively encounter which brightened up a dull dreary November Saturday.
‘Town laid down an early marker right from the off when Coulter opened the scoring with only a few minutes on the clock. They were back on the attack from the restart via Wilson and despite an attempted interception from the visitors took play back up to the 22. Play continued deep in Dungannon territory and then ‘Town spurned a kickable penalty opportunity and briefly lost the advantage. The visitors broke through for a converted try of their own to nudge ahead. They couldn’t capitalise however, and having failed to gather the restart handed possession straight back to Randalstown. Clean ball off the resulting lineout was quickly passed out and Montgomery, on his return to Randalstown colours, strolled in for a try. McCann added the extras and the lead reverted back to the home side.
Dungannon again replied with a penalty to narrow the gap.
The next 10 minutes was completely dominated by ‘Town but they couldn’t quite breach the visiting defence despite several players going close. Dungannon defended well but were unable to clear their lines effectively in the face of concerted pressure from the home side. Ian Hume deputising in the back row, together with the experienced Wilson were making a real nuisance of themselves at close quarters. Eventually ‘Gannon managed to clear as far as half way and again ‘town conceded a penalty. The long range effort had the distance but in the end fell wide of the upright.
With Dungannon forwards then in possession of the ball and well inside the home territory it looked as though they might add to their tally until Michael Smith, who had another fine outing, committed a move akin to daylight robbery, relieved a chunky Dungannon forward of the ball, darted forward and then kicked long up the middle. Together with McWhirter, deputising at scrum half for O’Kane, they set off in hot pursuit and while they couldn’t quite get over the whitewash a penalty was secured by their efforts, and by the efforts of the forwards quickly up in support. ‘Town opted for the scrum at this close range and Mcwhirter again made a couple more yards before Wilson gathered and scrambled over. With McCann adding the conversion ‘Town had amassed a decent enough 17-10 half time lead.
Having conceded an early penalty after the restart ‘Town managed to turnover possession and secure the loose ball. McWhirter put up a high box kick and Fleck was quickly up to gather. He made good ground before shipping to McWhirter on his shoulder and he again stormed up the pitch. The final pass didn’t quite go to hand for what looked like being a certain try. Dungannon couldn’t seem to find a defence for the ‘Town onslaught at this stage and the ball was only cleared as far as Coulter. He jinked back through with some very delicate footwork and found McGlade in support. McGlade has an instinct for the line at close quarters which certainly didn’t let him down on this occasion and he touched down out wide. McCann added the tricky conversion.
In similar vein to the first half there followed a period of sustained pressure from the home side which didn’t result in the score board being troubled. There were handling errors in abundance on both sides. Eventually Fleck gathered and stormed over for a well deserved converted try.
McCann, having narrowly missed an opportunity to notch up 5 points out on his wing, then added 3 to his tally by way of a penalty. The home side remained on the offensive and almost immediately Coulter gathered and danced mesmerizingly through the visitor’s defence to notch up his second try of the afternoon. McCann’s sights were well and truly lined up now and he slotted over the conversion.
With the game in the bag ‘Town allowed Dungannon a bit of space and they duly obliged with a converted try. ‘Town weren’t done however and with little time now remaining on the clock Wilson broke and scored. This was quickly followed by a slick move from the backline as the ball was floated along from one side to the other for McGlade to finish it off back out on his wing. Both conversions were added.
It was good to see Montgomery back in Randalstown colours and recovered from a knee injury. Mark Allen in the second row also took his first run out of the season, partnered by young Scott Goodrich, who caught the eye several times in the loose. The centre pairing of Montgomery and Rab Fleck worked well and created space for the runners. It was a much changed ‘Town outfit which took to the field due to illness, injury and some unavailability but those called up to deputise, including McWhirter, McCann, Hume and young Scott Goodrich, were certainly not found wanting. On the contrary coach Stevenson should have further selection headaches this week as he considers the merits of each against those available to return to man the ramparts.
Man of the match was a difficult choice but Craig Coulter probably deserved the plaudits today as he looked solid in defence and dangerous in attack all afternoon, showing off pace and vision and was certainly deserving of two well taken scores.
Team: J Adair N Foster (Capt) D Millar M Allen S Goodrich I Hume A Fleck D Wilson P McWhirter M Smith P McCann R Fleck W Montgomery N McGlade C Coulter
Newry 2nd XV 0 Randalstown 2nd XV 13
Meanwhile on Saturday afternoon the Randalstown 2nd string were in Newry where they picked up a well deserved 2 points, eventually easing home to a 13-0 win.
The first half of this match was a fairly turgid affair with few scoring opportunities as the majority of the game was being played between the 20 metre lines. It was littered with mistakes and penalties, the visitors in particular finding it difficult to keep their feet and slipping a number of times as they attempted to move the ball.
Both sides missed early penalty attempts before ‘town opened the scoring through Jamie Barron to go 3-0 up.
David Smith went closest to the try line but the first half ended 3-0.
The second half was a bit more open with ‘Town attempting to spread the ball wide more often but it was to take until the final 15 minutes before any more points were scored.
Newry lost their out half with about an hour on the clock and gradually ‘town exploited the extra space, getting more and more quality possession in the Newry 22. Good linking between forwards and backs, with Winter and Hamilton prominent, resulted in Newry conceding another penalty which Barron stroked over.
With 5 minutes remaining ‘town secured victory via a converted try. Prop Adair sparked the move inside the home 22 and eventually Scott McClenaghan broke the Newry defence before flipping the ball to Barron who skipped through a couple of tackles down the wing and ran in under the posts. The young centre added the extras and bagged all 13 points for the afternoon.
Newry lost another player for the last few minutes and ‘Town went close again with Crawford just missing out in the corner right at the death.
This was a satisfying performance from the Randalstown 2nds and their play really deserved more points on the board. Skipper Hyndman, Conor Ferry, Rickie Fowler and Jamie Barron all put in pleasing displays.
Team: E Crawford A Sloane J Barron D Smith B Winter M Turner B Cathcart R Adair R Loughlin B Hamilton S Hyndman (Capt) C Ferry S McClenaghan R Fowler D Harris.
Next week the 1st XV host Limavady in the league, while the 2nd XV are away to Lurgan. The 3rd XV travel to Carrick 4ths in the first round of the McCambley cup. As usual all teams welcome as much support as possible.
