Wednesday 14 October 2009

Clonakilty Find Their feet In The Vale

Clonakilty12 Belfast Harlequins 15
It was a narrow defeat yet a defeat nevertheless and one that got away. Quins did not deserve to lose but Clon deserved a draw at least and it would have been a good two points for the northerners on the road had it ended that way. The Belfast men will have gone home very, very happy with four points that they would have expected to take before running out in The Vale sunshine. At no stage after that were they sure of any points at all as Clon, as expected, put last week behind them with a performance that was light years ahead of that display. The home side soaked up early pressure and on their first visit to the Quins half Kurt Morath converted a 40 metre penalty after five minutes. Clon continued to defend brilliantly against a very physical side and when they once again moved into the Belfast territory for a line out, Alfie Harte found Dean Landy high in the air. Michael Peter O’Regan took it on and Clon were nearly in with Mike Keohane, David Lombard and Paul Dillon combining well until the final pass to Noel O’Sullivan was forward. Clon were under pressure in the scrums but Keohane at eight was coping well defensively. The defence was a feature and one huge hit dislodged the ball from the Quins carrier and Clon countered promisingly until a high tackle on JD O’Mahony stopped the movement. Morath again from 40 metres landed the penalty for a 6 – 0 lead. This was two scores from two visits for Clon which was a very encouraging statistic. Niall O’Connor, a rising Ulster star, reduced the lead to three before great foot-balling skill from John O’Donnell sent Dave Lombard on a crashing run. The big centre is always difficult to stop and this time he had to be stopped illegally and Morath again restored Clon’s six point lead. The wily O’Connor left three points between the sides at half time pinching significant yardage to convert a penalty chance. He brought his side level with another penalty ten minutes after the restart and put them ahead 9 – 12 when Clon were a man down with MP O’Regan sin-binned. Good work from Donal McSweeney, Lombard and Harte gave Clon the chance of an equaliser which Morath gladly accepted. Great play from the excellent Joe Crowley and a big 40 metre run from Lombard cheered all and right to the end there was hope that Clon would take the spoils. Quins with another O’Connor penalty took the honours in the end but all that was between West Cork side and a draw or victory was a knock on, a refereeing decision or a narrowly missed kick. On the other hand only for an incredible tackle and hold-up by Harte over the Clon line Quins would have scored the only try of the game. In the end the bonus point and the vastly improved display will give great heart. The squad was John O’Donnell, JD O’Mahony, Paul Dillon, David Lombard, JD O’Mahony, Kurt Morath, Joe Crowley, Tom Ryan, Alfie Harte (Capt), Joe Knowles, Dan Whelton, Donal McSweeney, Dean Landy, Michael Peter O’Regan, Mike Keohane, Hugh O’Neill, Derry O’Neill, John O’Regan, Eric Murphy and Darragh Lynch. They take a break this week before the massive challenge of an on fire Lansdowne in the RDS on Sat 24th. Lansdowne are having an incredible season in Leinster and are still in The All Ireland Cup. In the All Ireland League to date they have beaten Old Wesley by 33 points and Bruff by 41 points. Both of those games were away from home – what will they be like in their first game at home!? History shows that Clon perform best against the biggest opposition but they will need to be at their very best to get anything out of this trip.

J2 League
Clonakilty23 Bandon 5
Last Sunday the J2s took on an experienced Bandon side in The Vale. Matters were even for the most part in a keenly contested first half with the Clonakilty defence on their line crucial in keeping the visitors scoreless. A break by the Clon backline led to impressive fullback, James O'Driscoll, racing in to touch down in the corner. A penalty by out half Eric White put the home side eight points up at the break. Bandon raised their game in the second half and worked hard for the crucial line-break that led to their only score of the game an excellent try from their veteran hooker. A superb Clon backline move orchestrated by White in conjunction with centres Brian McSweeney and Ethan Jennings led to a try from the alert Barry Houlihan. Bandon responded with an unconverted try, however, soon afterwards Prop Michael Murphy cut an angle which opened up the defence and scored an excellent individual try. This was converted by White who subsequently landed a further penalty to finish the scoring. The pack, short a number of regulars, worked hard throughout and had star performers in Jonathon Toft at hooker for the first time, Brian Blackwell who dominated the lineout exchanges and David Houlihan who covered acres. Tim O'Regan and Owen Jackson helped lay the foundations for victory. The competition for places is building and all players are expected to attend training on Friday night at 7.30pm on the pitch.

Under 17s
Bandon 58 Clonakilty 0
Despite the absence of eight regulars Clonakilty played Bandon in Old Chapel in the second round of Section 1 of the U17 league. The result will have brought the squad back to earth after their excellent showing the previous week against Skibbereen when they won 29 – 5. The score line, however, does not reflect what was in fact a very spirited performance. In a very hard working squad the players put their bodies on the line for the duration of the game and played for the jersey right to the end. The opposition was a very strong and well-organised Bandon outfit and exceptional bravery and physical commitment was essential and it was shown in the pack in general and by Jack O’Donovan, Ronan O’Mahony, Dean Hennessy and Josh Wilcox in particular. In the backs Barry Hayes, Ruairc Courtney, Padraig O’Donovan and Eoin O’Neill were immense in the defensive line. O’Neill in particular stood out until he had to leave the field through injury. The complete squad had game time and the spirit shown in the face of such adversity will only stand to this bunch of players in the future. None took a backward step and each play contested as if it was the first and all still to play for. The squad was Ben Howarth, Andrew Flynn, Chris Hayes, Shane O’Donovan, Dean Hennessy, Jack O’Donovan, Ronan O’Mahony, Josh Wilcox, Barry Hayes, Ruairc Courtney, Ruairi Hash, Padraigh O’Donoan, Sam Cronin, GearĂ³id Brennan, Eoin O’Neill, Andrew Flynn, Billy Verlinder, Connor O’Brien, Philip Hinchy and John Rogers. U17 Training continues each Monday and Wednesday nights at 6:30 Sharp. All Welcome.

Fixtures:
Saturday 17th
Under 15 League, Clonakilty V Carrigaline, The Vale, 11.30am

Sunday 18th
Senior Seconds league, Clonakilty v Cork Constitution, The Vale, 2.30pm
Junior 2 league, Clonakilty v Dunmanway, Dunmanway, 2.30pm

Loose Head

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