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Skerries fail narrowly to overcome stubborn Dundalk
Dundalk 14 After a prolonged break of five weeks and with the rest of the country suffering weather conditions of biblical proportions, the Skerries camp were eager to get back to work on the pitch and the conditions at Mill Road certainly lent themselves to the task. Unfortunately for Skerries and their travelling support, they could not find the key to unlock this Dundalk defence when required and with the usually reliable goal-kicking of out-half McGahan taking a day out, a losing bonus point was all there was to take back to Holmpatrick. As was to be expected, the opening period of this game was tentative and somewhat nervous from both sides but Skerries were beginning to show their superior class with Quirke and O’Mahony showing good touch’s. McGahan’s break and a good scrum after 10 min’s gave Skerries the opportunity of an overlap on the Dundalk left but over-eagerness from the Skerries backs let the chance slip. After 15 min’s Skerries came again but with Dundalk in retreat, the ball was over-played in the centre and the Dundalk full-back McGee took full advantage of a loose pass and raced from his 22 to score under the posts, out-half McDonald adding the conversion. 7-0 to Dundalk. Skerries came right back at Dundalk and had their first penalty chance on 20 min’s but McGahan’s effort from 40 mtr’s was unsuccessful. 3 min’s later Skerries forced a 5 mtr scrum but the ball was lost on their own put in and Dundalk cleared through the boot of McDonald, who was their main focus all day either in defence or attack. On the half-hour Skerries missed another kickable penalty but 3 min’s later McGahan landed a penalty from just inside the half-way to put Skerries on the board, 7-3. It looked like the game was turning in Skerries favour just on half-time when captain Derek Keane broke from his own 22 and with Quirke running a super support line, the full-back touched down in the corner. McGahan conversion attempt was just short but Skerries were in front 8-7. Immediately, Skerries let this lead slip away, when, from the restart, scrum-half Robin’s kick was charged down and Dundalk again scored under the posts with McDonald adding the conversion, 14-8. Half-time left Dundalk in the driving seat, a position they hardly deserved on the balance of play but when handed the chances, they dutifully took them. Right from the start of the second half Skerries had the chance to put pressure on Dundalk but another kickable penalty went astray. With Dempsey on at scrum-half the tempo of the Skerries game quickened and as both teams upped the intensity, the game flowed from end to end. Skerries at times played the full width of the pitch, moving the Dundalk defence from one side to the other but could not sustain the phases and possession together in order to break down the Dundalk defence. Chances did come Skerries way in the shape of the penalties that Dundalk were conceding and after McGahan missed again, Dempsey tried his boot with 15 min’s to go but to no avail. With the Dundalk pack now in the ascendancy, the final minutes of this game looked likely to be a forwards battle as the home side tried to keep the second half scoreless by whatever means they could. In injury time, Skerries won a penalty on the Dundalk 22, forcing a 5 mtr line-out and from the resulting maul, Packie O’Connor popped up on the blind side to touch down in the corner. 14-13 with a sideline conversion to win the game. The kick from McGahan fell agonizingly short and the victory belonged to Dundalk. Although the result today was not to Skerries liking, the team showed a lot of ability and commitment and were dreadfully unlucky with the return from their penalty count, as this discipline has been one of the positive features of campaign. If patience and a belief in their superiority over other teams can be added to the mix, there is still a lot to come from this team.
Skerries Team v. Dundalk. 1. P. O’Connor 16. D. Dornan
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