Clondalkin ground out their first league win of the season with an impressive 13-6 result against Dublin rivals Monkstown on Saturday 3rd October.
Clon were out to avoid a repeat of last season’s results having lost both the home and away fixtures to Monkstown and from the outset it was clear that the home team were in a determined mood. Monkstown initially fancied their chances by putting width on the ball but heavy hits from Clon drove the visitors back. Chris Jebb put the first points on the board after just 5 minutes with a long range penalty kick from just inside the Monkstown half. A dominant forward effort from Clon followed up this initial score and Derek Glennon forced his way over the line in the corner after a series of pick and drives on the 15 minute mark. Glennon unfortunately departed injured having scored but Chris Jebb added the extras to push Clon out to a 10 point advantage. Monkstown eventually got off the mark with a straightfoward penalty kick on the 23 minute mark to narrow the gap to 7 points but they were unable to seriously threaten the home team’s line. In his final outing in Clondalkin colours, Mark Molloy was putting in a vintage performance from the base of the scrum with his distribution, box kicking and speed around the pitch as impressive as it had ever been.
The score remained 10-3 early into the second half when the visitors enjoyed a purple patch of possession and were camped in the Clondalkin 22. Resolute defense from Clon offered them very little opportunity to claw back the deficit and when second row Jamie Davies lifted the siege with a 60 metre clearance kick, there was a feeling that it wasn’t going to be Monkstown’s day. Clon’s Niall Nolan and Barry Mulloy threated on a couple of occasions when the ball was spread wide but the final pass wouldn’t go to hand. Monkstown reduced the deficit to just 4 points with their second successful penalty before Andy Tyndall who was on as a temporary sub for Chris Jebb, hit a monster 50 metre penalty attempt that came back off the post. However, from the ensuing pressure, the returning Chris Jebb edged the home teams advantage back to 7 points with a successful penalty. This was to be the final score of the game and guaranteed Clondalkin a vital home win in what is a hugely competitive Leinster League Division 1A. Man of the match was David Jebb who continued where he left off against DLSP last week with a tackling masterclass and a special mention should also go to the dominant Clondalkin pack with a near faultless display in the lineout and scrum.
Clondalkin 1st XV: Conor Maloney, James Kenny, Brian Doyle (Capt.), Jamie Davis, Marcus Doyle, Paul Nolan, John Walsh, Derek Glennon, Mark Molloy, Chris Jebb, Niall Nolan, Dave Jebb, Colm Quinn, Eoin Delaney, Barry Mulloy. Subs: Tom McGrath, Ciaran O’Connor, Neil Finlay, Ben Foran, Andy Tyndall.
