The Beatty Cup
The Beatty Cup which has been played for since 1968 between neighbours Dungannon and Portadown was again contested between old rivals. This year the cup was contested between the 3rd and 4th XV’s of the two clubs with the 3rd XV’s match having the added spice of league points being also up for grabs. It was named in memory of a local journalist, Herbie Beattie who worked for both the Portadown Times and the Tyrone Courier.
Saturday 18 September 2010
Beatty Cup
Dungannon IV 24 Portadown IV 0
It may have been a horrible day for rugby but Julian Knipe’s team, wearing their new sponsored strip, kindly provided by the Linen Mill house and garden outlet, Linen Green and Arlene Jardine Insurance Services the boys looking very smart set about the task of winning this early kick-off Beatty Cup encounter. Pinning Portadown in their own half, frustration led to a foul on Keith Blevins in a lineout but the home side kept their cool. Portadown then tried to run the ball but it was spilled and the alert Alan Cummings was up in a flash to hack through for a try in the eighth minute. That underlined the need for careful handling of the greasy ball with mistakes delaying the next score for a full thirty minutes. A burst down the middle saw A Cummings well tackled before Chris Henderson nudged the ball forward to gain the touchdown. Portadown protested but the try was awarded and Chris Henderson duly converted to leave the half-time score at 12-0.
Early in the second half Dungannon caught Portadown napping when a quickly taken free released the irrepressible Clive Whylie. He left several would be tacklers in his wake as he crossed the line for Chris Henderson to convert. Now nineteen points down the Ports responded strongly with a notable forward surge. John Purdy and Aaron Murtagh were prominent for the visitors and the latter was unlucky not to score.
Midway through the half Dungannon were back on the front foot and by the hour mark Clive Whylie had crossed for his second try. That completed the scoring as Dungannon ran out 24-0 winners.
10 Picture Slideshow Of Dungannon In Action – CLICK HERE –
Team:. Stephen Graham, Richard Cummings, Andrew Mullan, Kevin McElduff, Jonathan Clarke. Robin McCleary, Julian Knipe (Capt). Wallace McKay, Rodney Lucas, Darran Lucas, Keith Blevins, Adam Booth, Colin Forbes, Alan Cummings, Ryan O’Neill, Jonathan Kelso, Michael Crawford Robin McCleary, Con Girvan
Referee: Andrew Torrens
Scorers:-
Tries: Alan Cummings, Chris Henderson & Clive Whylie (2)
Cons: Chris Henderson (2)
Pen:
Drop Goal:
3rd XV vs Portadown (31 – 0)
Junior League Section 2 & Beatty Cup
On a rain sodden front pitch Dungannon III XV played their part in winning the Beatty Cup with a deserved, if slightly flattering 31-0 win over Portadown. Skipper, Chris Holland led his team well and Jonny Patton punished some Portadown indiscipline giving the home side a 12-0 lead in the first half hour with penalties on five, ten, seventeen and thirty minutes.
Elsewhere Dungannon benefited from good runs by the Blair Bros and Jason Ferry. Chris Holland was good in the lineout and also headed up a workmanlike back row. Right on the stroke of half-time a good forward surge saw Richard Wright attempt to dive over, just as he appeared to be lost amongst Portadown bodies Gary Martin came to the rescue and dived over for the score. Jonny Patton’s conversion made it 19-0 at the break.
Dungannon withstood Portadown pressure at the start of the second half but once downfield a nifty diagonal chip from Jonny Patton saw Jonny Smith show his quality as he picked up and dived over in the corner. On the hour mark Portadown lost their hooker Aaron McCullough through injury and then lost their No 7 to the bin after seventy minutes. On seventy-five minutes the issue was sealed when skipper Chris Holland charged down a five scrum clearance with Patton adding the simple conversion for a 31-0 win and the return of the Beatty Cup to Dungannon.
Team: Christopher Blair. Brian Simpson, Jason Ferry, Geoffrey Blair, Jonathan Smith. Jonathan Patton, Richard Wright. David Reid, Timothy Potter, Kyle Thompson. Chris Williamson, Paul Montgomery. Gary Martin, Mark McFarland, Christopher Holland (Capt)
Referee: Peter Jackson
Scorers:-
Tries: Gary Martin, Jonathan Smith & Chris Holland.
Cons Jonathan Patton (2)
Pens: Jonathan Patton (4)
