Clondalkin continued their impressive start to the season and extended their unbeaten run to 3 games with a 40 points to 12 win over Portarlington in Gordon Park on Sunday 7th September. Portartlington had the opportunity to open the scoring with a penalty kick but this drifted wide. The Dublin men had the edge in the scrum throughout the game but the first score came after a quick tap penalty from Derek Glennon whose offload to Mark Molloy enabled Niall Nolan to collect the scoring pass and dot down in the left corner, successfully converted by Chris Jebb. Just three minutes later, Nolan once again put the finishing touches in the same corner after a powerful run by number 15 Barry Mulloy. 14-0 up after the successful conversion, the third try came 10 minutes later from the impressive Karl Jebb whose move to the centre from back row this season is paying quick dividends. Approaching half-time 21 points to the good, the home team were guilty of taking the foot off the pedal and a concerted attack from Portarlington led to some serious pressure on the Clondalkin line – however, some hard tackling kept the Laois men scoreless as the whistle blew for the break.
Into the second half, Clondalkin continued where they left off as they took immediate possession after an athletic leap and catch from Karl Jebb. The tactics were to spin the ball wide and this worked to perfection as sub Mikey Russell found Niall Nolan whose pass put Mulloy in space 60 metres from the Portarlington line and he had the legs to outsprint the defense and score his first try of the game, again converted by Chris Jebb. Portarlington eventually put their mark on the scoreboard after a lineout move allowed their scrum half to get over the line for an unconverted try. They followed this up 8 minutes later with a second try, successfully converted, after Clondalkin failed to deal with a high ball.
This proved to be Portarlington’s last contribution to the scoreboard – their scrum was being routinely dismantled by Clondalkin and a kick from their 22 to relieve pressure found the inviting hands of Niall Nolan who danced past several attempted tackles to notch his hat-trick score. Not to be outdone, the impressive Mulloy got his second try moments later after finishing off a well worked backline move. Final score 40 points to 12 which guarantees Clondalkin’s place in the Hosie Cup semi-final.
Clondalkin 1st XV: B Mulloy, P Hickey, D Gaule, K Jebb, N Nolan, C Jebb, M Molloy, D Glennon, N Finlay, L Sweetman, K Cullen, S King, B Doyle, J Kenny, C McCrea. Subs: M Russell, B Foran, D Jebb, C Cullen, T McGrattan, J Walsh.
