With several key players still unavailable due to injuries the coaches opted to play a mainly young team, with only 5 players in the squad over the age of 25.

Having lost recently to Randalstown in the league fixture the Dee knew they would be up against a much heavier set of forwards and an experienced backline. With Donaghadee having avoided the recent snow the pitch was in excellent condition, albeit slightly moist due to a shower just prior to kickoff. The Dee started brightly and tried to run the ball at every opportunity with both wings Johnny Moore and Curtis Ewing getting involved early on. However, it was Randalstown who were the first to score when they were awarded a penalty try when a Randalstown scrum was illegally halted on the Dee try line. The next quarter of the game was mostly played out in the middle of the park with possession and territory evenly shared between the two teams. The Dee forwards fronted up well against the bigger Randalstown pack, spurred on by captain Chris Hamilton who, as usual, was leading by example. Front row of Dylan Robinson, Bryn McCartney and veteran Davy Skipp performed well at scrum time and also made their fair share of tackles throughout the game, the highlight being a crunching tackle from Skipp on his opposite number. In the twenty sixth minute a promising move from the Dee had taken play into the oppositions 22 only for the ball to be intercepted by the Randalstown centre. He looked certain to score until he was chased down and tackled by the speedy Johnny Moore. A couple of minutes later the Dee lost a player to the sin bin for a deliberate knock on but this only seemed to increase the team’s determination to keep their line intact. A herculean defensive effort followed with backs Jody Newell, Robbie Ingham and Curtis Ewing in particular increasing the tackle count. The forwards also played their part with Padric Ahearn and Andy McCracken making a nuisance of themselves at the breakdown to frustrate the opposition. Just as the half ended Randalstown were awarded a penalty and opted for the kick at goal which they converted to give them a 10 point lead.

A few minutes into the second half Randalstown managed to squeeze into the corner to score an unconverted try. The Dee’s woes continued when they lost a player to the sin bin for another deliberate knock on. This time Randalstown took advantage of the numerical advantage and scored their third try when their centre went over under the posts. The easy conversion was successful to push the lead to 22 -0. To their credit this young Dee team did not let their heads drop and probably enjoyed their best spell of the game. Sam Moore, on his 1st XV debut, was putting in a great shift in the pack along with Ryan Butler and it was good to see player- coach Ray Dobson joining the fray after a considerable time on the sidelines. James Small also contributed well when he replaced the injured Sam Moore. Mark Cooper was solid as ever in the centre and Adam McGrath looked comfortable in his first start at out-half. This hard work was eventually rewarded when Ahearn forced his way into the Randalstown 22 and after a couple of well worked phases the effervescent Ben Beattie nipped though the defence to score at the posts. McGrath added the conversion to take the score to 22-7. In the final play of the match Randalstown managed to score a fourth try to make the final score 29-7, slightly flattering the visitors considering the Dee’s effort throughout the game.

This was an encouraging performance from the Dee and a real team effort, however, this week’s man-of-the-match goes to Padric Ahearn.

The Dee’s next game is away to Omagh 2s on 25th March.