Clondalkin celebrated the opening of their redeveloped Clubhouse on Saturday 28th November but were unable to prevent a strong Gorey team take home the spoils in their Leinster League Division 1A clash.
Minister for Justice and local TD, Frances Fitzgerald was on hand to cut the tape for Clondalkin’s new changing room and pitch facilities, built with the assistance of a sports capital grant from the Department of Transport Tourism and Sport. The inclement weather conditions meant that the majority of the ceremony was conducted indoors but this failed to dampen the spirits of the large crowd on hand to witness the official opening of the latest chapter in Clondalkin RFC. Full credit goes to the sterling work carried out over the past few years of the Club Development Committee, chaired by Kieran Phelan and ably assisted by Frank Lynam, Aiden Delemere and Eamon Stapleton.
Once the official business was out of the way, the attention turned to matters on the field of play where Clon needed a win to get their league campaign back on track. Gorey, as visitors were challenging at the top end of the table and started the stronger side, despite playing into a gusty wind. Gorey were first to score with a try, following a 20 metre drive from a line-out on the Clon 22. They failed to convert and Clon bounced back as Chris Jebb landed a penalty to leave the scores 3 – 5 after just 9 minutes on the clock. However, Clon failed to learn from their earlier defensive mistake as on the 10th minute Gorey scored a second pushover try after another lineout drive. The home side struck back from the concession of this second soft try with another penalty kick from Jebb but Gorey responded with a 3-pointer of their own before their scrum half finished off a good move to once more cross the white-wash and extend Gorey’s lead to 6-18 as the half time whistle blew.
Clon started much the stronger into the second half and almost immediately Captain Brian Doyle crossed the line to narrow the gap to 11-18 after the conversion was missed. By this stage, Clon had fixed their 1st half lineout problems and were getting on top in the scrum – despite this improvement, Gorey’s defense held firm and Clon were unable to generate any further opportunities to get over the visitors line. Gorey were content to hold onto the lead they had established and with the only remaining scores being an exchange of penalty kicks, the game closed out 14 points to 21, with the consolation of a losing bonus point for Clondalkin. Half way through the league programme, with 10 points Clondalkin sit just above Suttonians who are in bottom place. Clon will be looking to raise their game for the remaining fixtures, starting this Saturday 5th in Gordon Park against De La Salle Palmerstown.
Clondalkin 1st XV: C Malon, J Kenny, B Doyle (Capt), S Brennan, J Davis, D Glennon, N Findlay, S King, E Delaney, C Quinn, N Nolan, B Mulloy, M Stapleton, A Collier, C Jebb.
