Coolmine were the visitors to Mill Road on Saturday and brought the sunshine with them. Both teams had won their last outings , Dundalk against Garda and Coolmine against Wanderers, and so were eager to continue on winning ways and ensure a place in the top half of the League Table.
Coolmine, with a large physical pack and strong running backs, went on the attack from starting whistle. They pinned Dundalk inside their own half for the first ten minutes but resolute tackling, particularly from the front row of Robert Farrell, Jonathan Grey and Ciaran Brannigan, kept them from crossing the try line. The attacking play of Coolmine eventually brought them a penalty which they choose to kick and so they opened the scoring 3-0.
As the game progressed Dundalk gained more possession and started making inroads into the Coolmine half.The Dundalk centre Afa Fa’atau broke the Coolmine line of defence with a charging run. Thomas Campbell quickly following up put the ball through two phases of play and found Ene Fa’atau whose strong run brought him to just short of the Coolmine line where he managed a pop pass to wing forward Stephen Martin, who dived over to score Dundalk’s opening try. Ultan Murphy stepped up to convert and give the home team a 7-3 lead after 15 minutes.
Dundalk’s game improved and more cohesion came into their play and their handling,gaining more ground with each attack. A line break from Ene Fa’atau found man of the match Stephen Martin again on his shoulder. Martin took the pass and handed off defenders before finding the hard running Stephen Murphy with a difficult pass which Murphy held onto with great skill.
Murphy was tackled heavily but managed to keep control of the ball to allow a ruck to be formed. Quick thinking Afa Fa’atau arrived, picked the ball and went over for Dundalk’s second try. The try went unconverted and the score after 20 minutes was 12-3.
Dundalk’s confidence improved and they were pushing hard for further tries. In the centre Fa’atau’s strong running continued to create problems for Coolmine and they could not get to grips with his running lines. Fa’atau got into the opposition 22 before passing to Murphy ,who drew his tackler to bring in Ciaran Sloan who found Robert Shields, at speed, on the wing with the line at his mercy. The referee however deemed the final pass to be forward and disallowed the try.
Just before half time a mix up in the defensive line of the home team left a gap for the Coolmine outhalf to come through and find his supporting full back with a good pass. The Coolmine player drew his opposite number on the Dundalk team to release his winger to score under the posts closing the gap to 12-10 at half time.
Dundalk started the second period the stronger team and launched attack after attack on the Coolmine line with Greg Whately to the fore in these efforts.Out-half Johnny Williams bounced off tacklers to gain vital yards and a score seemed inevitable after six phases of play with excellent handling but an intercept and clearance by the Coolmine winger relieved the pressure on the visitors line.
Coolmine were awarded a penalty on the halfway line and as their alert scrum half tapped and went second row Simon Crawford tackled him to save a certain try. However Crawford was sin binned for the tackle as he was not the requisite ten metres away from where the penalty was awarded. Dundalk were now down to 14 men early in the second half but they dug deep to keep the visitors at bay. Coolmine got a lineout close to the Dundalk line and with the extra man in the pack decided to maul the ball from the lineout. Trojan work from Jonathan Grey and Ciaran Sloan, who drove the ball carrier backwards,led to Dundalk being awarded a penalty. This relieved the pressure and a good kick put the pressure straight back on Coolmine. Dundalk worked their way up the field to the opposition 10 metre line where Coolmine conceded a penalty which Ultan Murphy slotted over to leave the score at 15-10 on 55 minutes. A Coolmine penalty from the 22metre line left the score 15-13 on 60 minutes.
Coolmine, encouraged by the narrow gap in the scoreline, took the ball from the kick off and drove towards the home line. Their efforts led to a Coolmine scrum ten metres out from the Dundalk line. The Dundalk defence was superb and working hard they got their hands on the ball and cleared their line. Ultan Murphy chased the cleatrance and deep inside the Coolmine half he tackled the catcher who was penalised for not releasing. Murphy completed his good work by converting the penalty 18-13.
From the kick off Coolmine got possession, mauled up the pitch and after several phases attacked down the blind side for their winger to score out wide. The conversion was missed leaving the scoreline 18-18 with ten minutes to go. Game on!
Shortly after the kick off Dundalk were awarded a penalty near the half way line, just inside the Coolmine half. Murphy stepped up to have a shot at the posts but despite having the distance the ball drifted just wide of the post. Encouraged, Dundalk continued to play in the Coolmine half of the field.
Coolmine resisted and launched an attack of their own, breaking up the pitch to the half way line. Dundalk hero, Jonathan Williams intercepted, turned and sprinted down the wing to the Coolmine line with opposition players in hot pursuit. He was not to be caught and home supporters cheered as he touched down for a very important Dundalk try. Murphy converted 25-18.
Coolmine launched a final attack but great cover tackling kept them out leaving Dundalk with another hard won victory and a very tired team. Well done all and keep up the good work. Dundalk now share third place in the league table with our next opponents Enniscorthy.
Team:
U.Murphy, R.Shields, R.Williams, A.Fa’atau, S.Murphy, J.Williams, T.Campbell, R.Farrell, J. Grey, C.Brannigan, S.Crawford, C.Sloan, E.Fa’atau, S.Martin, G.Whately, Subs: D.O’Connell, L.Steen, E.Boyle, J.Smith, D.Sloan
Golf Classic next Sat in Killin Park Golf Club. Support welcome. See you there. More info from Tommy.
