Match Report: Clondalkin 22 vs 15 Gorey, Leinster Provincial Towns Cup, 2nd Round, Sunday February 22
It was a late late show in Gordon Park where Clondalkin came from behind to score two tries in the last 7 minutes to see off Gorey in a tightly contested Towns Cup game on Sunday 22nd February. The conditions were difficult with a greasy ball and a driving wind that was behind Gorey in the first half to which they used to immediately put the home team under pressure. Gorey went close before a knock on turned possession over to Clondalkin, whose attempt at breaking out of their own half resulted in a forward pass and possession once again exchanging hands. Just 5 minutes into the match with Gorey deep in the Clondalkin 22, a quick back line move saw their full back, Brandon Spears scythe through to score under the posts, which he also converted. As Gorey’s best player, Spears looked dangerous throughout the game both with ball in hand and using his boot to drive Clon into their own half.
Gorey had the chance to extend their lead with penalty kicks on 8 and 11 minutes but both attempts drifted wide of the target. After the concession of the early try, Clon refocused their defense and some impressive tackling, particularly a couple of bone shakers from Matt Stapleton denied Gorey any clean line breaks. On 20 minutes, a ruck infringement gave Gorey a penalty chance close to the half way line and the big boot of Spears extended the away teams lead to 10 points. Clondalkin’s pack were having the edge in the scrums but were unable to challenge Gorey’s dominance in the lineouts. With 2 minutes to go until half time and Gorey firmly embedded in the Clon 22, a dropped ball was scooped up and ended in the hands of winger Niall Nolan who ran 70 metres to score Clondalkin’s first points in the corner. Against the wind, Ben Foran landed an excellent conversion to leave the home team just 3 points adrift at half time and the promise of the wind in their backs in the second.
Despite the favourable wind, the early minutes of the 2nd period were characterized by some poor tactical kicking from the home team which gave Gorey a foothold in the Clon half. The pressure was all from the Wexford men with a break out from Matt Stapleton the only occasion when the siege was lifted. After 16 minutes, a Gorey lineout saw a pick-and drive from their forwards which they drove over the line to score an unconverted try and extend their lead, 15 points to 7. On 22 minutes, Andy Dixon ran an incisive line to penetrate the Gorey defense but his lay off to Stapleton was harshly adjudged forward. Gorey continued to have great difficultly with the Clon scrum and from 5 metres were driven back over their line – the referee whistled for a penalty offense when a penalty try could easily have been awarded. The pressure kept coming from Clon and only desperate defending from Gorey kept their lead intact, however on 32 minutes, Matt Stapleton kicked a successful penalty to reduce the gap to just 5 points. With just 7 minutes remaining, Clon ran the ball from the restart and quick hands from James Kenny saw Ali Collier make 30 metres before his flat inside pass found captain Simon King in support.
Despite the presence of 2 tacklers, King had sufficient momentum and strength to reach over the line and score the try which leveled the match and Stapleton added the extra 2 points to put Clon into the lead for the first time. Gorey had no answer after that try and the icing on the cake was served from the excellent Matt Stapleton in the final minute when he powered past some tired tackling to score in the corner. The final result read 22 points to 15 and Clondalkin supporters were given further reason to smile when the 3rd round draw landed them another home tie, against either Tullamore or Portlaoise which will be played on Sunday March 22nd.
Clondalkin 1st XV: Brian Doyle, James Kenny, Ciaran Cullen, Marcus Doyle, Sean Brennan, Simon King (Capt.), Paul Nolan, Derek Glennon, Mark Mulloy, Ben Foran, Ali Collier, David Gaule, Matt Stapleton, Niall Nolan, Michael Russell. Subs: John Walshe, Andy Dixon, Kevin Kelly, Conor Maloney, Neil Finlay.
