Saturday was a day of great confusion with the referee for the 1st’s game arriving for a 2.30 kick off and the Gate Stewards Tim and Aidan arriving for a 5 o’clock game that had been called off it seems that only the Ladies who arrived for Lunch with Bubbles at 4 o’ clock got it right! However Tommy had a roaring fire on in the members lounge, with it’s new carpet and tiles, and it was most welcoming.

Dundalk welcomed Cill Dara to Mill Road on last Saturday night for an evening fixture under our newly installed floodlights. Despite the bitter cold there was a large crowd in attendance bolstered by the ladies who had come for the Ladies Day lunch. Dundalk were looking to consolidate their position in the League Table and with news coming in of some unexpected results earlier in the day there was great encouragement for the team to put in a winning performance. Wanderers had beaten Tullamore and Coolmine had beaten Enniscorthy and the Newbridge game had been called off so Dundalk had to be wary of a Cill Dara team that would also take encouragement from the days other results. As the appointed match referee had come for 2.30 he could not stay for the 7 o’clock kick off and a second official was dispatched by the Branch to take charge of the fixture.

From the kick off Coach Ene caught the ball and side stepped two players, off loaded to John Smyth who charged forward and set up a ruck. The ball was recycled and kicked down the pitch to test the opposition full back under the lights on a cold night. The full back was up to the test and returned the kick with interest launching a Cill Dara attack from the half way line. They carried very well through six phases to be rewarded with an early penalty when a home player was penalised for tackling a man without the ball. Cill Dara converted and the score was 3 – 0 after only 4 minutes

Cill Dara’s scrum was very effective and had the Dundalk eight under pressure leading to the concession of a penalty for an early hit. The Cill Dara scrum half tapped and went only for Dundalk to concede a second penalty for not being the requisite distance from the mark. The penalty,on the ten metre line, was within scoring distance but the effort just drifted wide much to the relief of the home team.

Cill Dara continued the pressure on Dundalk, pinning them inside their own half for most of the first fifteen minutes.The home teams failure to protect scrum half Thomas Campbell at rucks and a number of knock on situations gave possession back to Cill Dara time and again. Cold hands may have been a contributory factor on what was a bitterly cold night. Dundalk came more into the game and finally crossed into the opposition half on a number of occasions but the Cill Dara team were rescued by their No 7 who got his hands on the ball to ease pressure and allow his lines to be cleared.

Shortly after his heroic interventions the Cill Dara no 7 was knocked out after a collision with with the knee of Robert Williams and had to helped off the field of play but we are glad to report that he made a full recovery by later in the evening. Man of the Match Williams was sprinting up the wing and jinked inside to avoid the touchline and two Cill Dara tacklers when the accidental collision occured. This was a big loss for Cill Dara as the No 7 was having an outstanding game causing Dundalk a lot of problems.

Dundalk upped their game and a charge by Afa Fa’atau saw him break free from his own 22 passing to Robert Williams who ran a wonderful line to make it to the Cill Dara 22 before being brought down by the opposition. Cill Dara were penalised for hands in the ruck and T.C.. converted to level the scores at 3 – 3 after 30 minutes.

Getting on the scoreboard seemed to galvanise the Dundalk players and they improved their ball retention skills and attacked with greater intent. After a strong scrum on their own ten metre line, T.C. found Ultan Murphy who, with wonderful hands, found Afa in full flight. Afa side stepped his would be tacklers, passed to Robert Williams who was in close support and he found Owen Mc Nally who drew the final tackler to set up Afa who charged up the wing to touch down under the posts to leave the conversion an easy proposition for T.C. 10 -3 after 35 minutes. The final five minutes of the half saw the teams exchange kicks to no great advantage to either team. Cill Dara put the ball out on the full twice and Dundalk once prior to the half time whistle.

The second period began with a superb take by Gerard Scully, who tapped down to John Smyth . John charged forward and it took several Cill Dara players to stop him. The ball was recycled and passed out to the strong running Conor Beattie who made more vital yards. Conor had earlier come on for the injured Diarmuid Sloan. The Cill Dara tacklers did not roll away having tackled Conor and Ultan kicked the resulting penalty deep into the Cill Dara half for a Dundalk lineout.

A great throw from Jonathan Grey found Ciaran Sloan, at height, in the lineout. Ciaran passed to T.C.. whose quick pass to Ultan allowed him to bring in Stephen Murphy who was tackled just inside the opposition 22, where Dundalk were awarded a penalty for hands in the ruck. T.C. slotted it over to leave the score at 13 – 3 after 45 minutes.

Cill Dara were not a spent force yet and their big No 20 and an outstanding No 13 kept them very much in the game. The No 20 had a number of big carries but on one occasion after bouncing off two Dundalk tacklers he encountered Ene who tackled hard, ripped the ball and sprinted up-field from his own 22 to offload to T.C. who passed to Robert Williams. His clever feet saw him step inside two attempted tackles before sprinting forward to score under the posts. T.C. converted leaving the score 20 – 3 after 60 minutes.

The game deteriorated after this with scuffles and niggles dragging the game down. Dundalk however tried to concentrate on the game and great tackling from an outstanding Laurence Steen saw him steal a ball from the opposition as they threatened on the Dundalk five metre line. Replacement Prop Conor Williams was another to show his mettle in the tackling and carrying department in the later stages of the game.

The Man of the match award went to Robert Williams for his searing runs one of which led to the try by Afa. A close second was Laurence Steen who gave a tigerish performance at 6 on this his first outing with the 1st XV.

Team:
R. Williams,O. Mc Nally,S.Murphy,A. Fa’atau, G Scully, U.Murphy,T. Campbell,R.Farrell,J.GreyJ.Smyth,D.Sloan, C.Sloan,L.Steen, E.Fa’atau,G Whately R.Shields,C.Beattie,C.Williams,J.Williams,J.Kerr.

Dundalk were happy with the win which sees them share second place in the League Table with Enniscorthy and Newbridge, who have a game in hand.Our next opponents are League Leaders Tullamore next Saturday in Spollanstown with a 6 o’clock kick off.

Good to see Johnny Williams back and we also note the the continuing return to fitness of Paul ,our captain, who displayed his skills in tackling a stray dog, holding it in the tackle despite foul play by the dog itself and clearing it out of the ruck. Well done Paul!