Clondalkin 4ths notched up their first win of the season with a convincing 20-12 victory over Clontarf. Clondalkin were playing without their talismanic captain and ex-first teamer Brendan Ward but were bolstered by the addition of Conor ‘Big Dog’ Maloney, Tom Duffy and Leigh ‘Butcher’ Beresford.
Stand-in captain Alan Hickey made the bold decision to play into the conditions in the first half which saw the homeside withstand 15 minutes of heavy pressure in their 22 before conceding the first try of the game. Tarf converted and were almost immediately back on the front with the strong wind allowing their out half put Clon back on the defense with a thumping clearance kick from the restart. Clon’s defensive effort was immense with Paul Gifford, Leigh Beresford, Chris Murray and Alan Hickey among the players to register big hits in their defensive effort. A big tackle from Stephen Tyndall, returning after a 4 year hiatus, eventually forced a knock which afforded the home side to clear their lines. However, some sloppy work at scrum time allowed the Tarf flanker the chance to charge the ball down and put the visiting team 12-0 in front.
Strong words from Conor Maloney under the posts ensured any sleeping players woke up from their slumber. A strong tackle from Stephen Kenny afforded the home side some possession and territory. Line breaking carries from Chris Murray and Conor Maloney eventually led to Stephen Tyndall downing defenders with ease on his way to his first try in 4 years. Clon went into the break 12-5 down.
Manager Sid Stapleton made some changes at half time bringing former first team prop and last years president Tommy Duffy and Kevin Dunphy into the team, which added considerate bulk to the pack. This decision almost proved fatal as Duffy immediately missed the Tarf second row only 5 meters out from the line. An excellent scrambling tackle from Stephen Kenny forced the knock on over the line and kept Clon in the game. Duffy immediately took to twitter after the game to thank Kenny for his efforts with @DropperDuffy tweeting a non political based #thanksStephenKennyforcoveringmyass and #thejerseysweretootightformetotackle.
Another one of Stapleton’s changes was to replace one second generation player with another. Josh Dunne, son of Shane, replaced Eoghan Bracken, who was the stand out player in last week’s game and is the son of Barney. Both look to have bright futures in the club and will give their fathers something to brag about in years to come. Bracken’s superb solo try last week which seen him going in from 40m out left a few people believing that Barney’s bar-time tales of how he ruled the wing in his day might in fact be true. However, Club historians can confirm Eoghan’s try was the first ever try scored at senior level by any Bracken.
Dunne’s first impact of the game was to put in a bone shuddering tackle on his opposite number, the biggest hit by a Dunne in the clubs 40 year existence, which forced him to knock on and gave Clon a scrum on the half way line. Another one of Stapleton’s decisions was to have Derek Murtagh who had already been withdrawn from play to lend Philly Byrne his gear in order to come on at 9. The introduction of Byrne, was immediately felt with him picking and going almost all the way to the line. He was hauled down just short but eventually got back to his feet to cross after some strong play from the forwards.
Clon were now in the ascendancy and it looked like they were set to put a big dent in the scoreboard when Leigh Beresford intercepted on the Clontarf 10 meter line. However, you don’t get a name like the Butcher for nothing and he managed to botch what seemed like the certain match winning try. Tarf cleared their lines and gave Clon a lineout on halfway. The ball went to 4 and a Tom Duffy led maul seen Clon march into the Tarf 22, with the prop showing the organistational skills he learned when he was pack leader at Newbridge RFC. Tarf brought the maul down which allowed Alan Hickey to ping the corner. The resulting maul allowed Steven Kenny to cross for the score that put Clon 20-12 in front.
With no bonus points awarded at 4th team level, Clon made the decision to close out the game by playing the game in the opposition 22. Alan Hickey and Dave Shirley both showed the kicking skills that saw them as first team regulars in seasons gone by and Conor Maloney put on a box kicking masterclass from the base of the ruck, that may put him in contention for the number 9 jersey in next weeks AIL cup. It also added fuel to his claims that he really is an outhalf inside of a prop’s body. Tarf needed to run the ball from their 22 and with Beresford and Dunne putting up a brick wall in the midfield it was left to the Tarf 8 to pick and go. Derek Murtagh, fresh from a for-once manager-enforced break on the sidelines, ensured the 8 made no ground. Final score 20-12.
Alan Hickey had this to say after the game “We showed a lot of spirit last week against RCSI, but with the other squads so injury depleted, we were bound to suffer from call ups. That same spirit is what got us through against tough opposition this week. We have the core of the team together now so we will look to build on this result in the weeks and months going forward. There is a lot of potential in this team so there is plenty to come from us this season”.
The 4ths have a break next week to travel north in supports on Clondalkin’s first bit of AIL action before taking on the Normans away the following weekend. The team will hope the extra two weeks will see some additional squad members appearing with Andy Dixons recovering well from having his comb over reattached and there’s hopes Big Dan Fitzpatrick might take some time off from posting selfies on Facebook to make an appearance on the field of play.
With Philly Byrne putting in fine performances at the back of the pack, and with Maloney’s box kicking credentials, the onlooking Mark Molloy was only too thankful first team coach John Bagnall was not about to witness 2 more challengers to his number 9 jersey.
(With thanks to our guest reporter, Derek Murtagh)
