|
|
Skerries take an early Christmas Bonus Tullamore 18 December 12th, 2009 Skerries came to the midlands in the knowledge that they had to continue the improvement they had shown in their last two games if they were to make headway in the second half of this league campaign. The manner in which they carried out their task and put Tullamore to the sword sets a mark for the rest of the season. Head Coach Gerry McCleery has great faith in his squad and they re-paid this faith in spades today as they reversed the early season defeat by today’s hosts and played with a maturity and control which had been lacking up to now to gain a winning bonus point victory. An early start by referee McCann led to the scenario where Skerries were behind by five points even before the scheduled kick-off time of 5.00 p.m. when, following a fumbled receive from the start, Tullamore’s out-half Deering’s cross-kick was misjudged by Skerries full-back Quirke to allow Scally to score. Quirke soon made up for his only lapse of the game to set up a Skerries attack with a superb take and after a Derek Keane break and intelligent re-cycling, hooker Mark Nally bored over for the equalising try which out-half McGahan converted. All this in the first 5 min’s of the game. Within 3 min’s, McGahan had put Skerries further ahead with their second try. Following a penalty from the New-Zealand out-half, Skerries won the resulting line-out and when the ball reached McGahan, his chip and chase wasn’t dealt with by the Tullamore defence and good footballing skills saw him race over for the try which he converted to bring the score to 14-5 after 8 min’s. Skerries now looked in control of this game but their scrum was beginning to come under some pressure from Tullamore and although slightly on the back foot were very unlucky to concede a second try when Tullamore winger Scally scored from a blatant forward pass in the centre to give them a way back into the game, the try being converted by full-back Whelan. With the score at 14-12 after 16 min’s, Tullamore now sensed their chance and upped the pressure on the Skerries scrum once more, this time winning a penalty on the 22 which Whelan converted to put the home side back in front 15-14. Skerries now had to show their mettle if McCleery’s faith was to be proven right and this they did in some style. After McGahan had restored the lead with a penalty from 30 mtr’s, captain Keane scored a brilliant try following an off-the-top ball from a Skerries line-out, when quick hands set the Skerries back-line in motion and as the Tullamore defence advanced, Keane saw the gap and powered over from 25 mtrs to bring the score to 22-15 and the bonus point was now a distinct possibility. Skerries needed to keep Tullamore from scoring before half time to maintain their grip on the game and in fact nearly scored again as an end-to-end break from winger Devitt saw them close out the first half in the driving seat. At the start of the second half Tullamore showed that they weren’t about to lie down and reduced the Skerries lead with a penalty after 4 min’s to bring the score to 22-18 but once again after conceding a score, Skerries showed great composure and applied the pressure on the home side again and it was flying winger O’Mahony who supplied the bonus point try on 10 min’s when, after another well executed Skerries line-out, prop Campbell charged at the Tullamore line and when the ball was worked out through the hands, O’Mahony was there on the overlap to touch down in the corner. McGahan’s super touchline conversion making the score 29-18. As expected, this game could not continue at the tremendous pace shown up to now and it would be the team who controlled the ball and weathered the effects of tiredness and attrition who would see this game out. Skerries showed the maturity required as Tullamore chased a losing bonus point and when substitute McAuley charged down an attempted clearance his try brought the score to 34-18 for Skerries and the game was finally up for Tullamore. Skerries now go into the Christmas break fully aware of what they are capable of and have sent a powerful message to the rest of the league. With other results going the way of the Holmpatrick outfit and the squad system showing a depth that they can now rely on, this is a platform that Skerries can build on for 2010. The management team of McCleery, Dempsey, Gissing and co. can enjoy this early Christmas present. Skerries Team: 1. Mark Browne Substitutes Eoghan Dempsey
|
