Dee welcomed Cavan to Donaldson Park on Saturday for a Championship 3 League encounter. Dee had won the away fixture a couple of weeks ago but Cavan arrived with a strong looking team so the Dee knew they were in for a hard day.

With several experienced forwards unavailable it was left to Davy Skipp and Chris Hamilton to increase the average age of the pack, with young Callum Moore and Leo Gray both starting.

The backline showed only one change with Adam Russell lining out on the left wing. James Harper provided front row cover on the bench and was joined by two debutants, Jack Murphy and Callum Dawson.

Friday’s heavy rain had left the surface moist and would test the handling ability of both teams. The Dee got off to a good start and were the first to bother the scoreboard when Leo Gray dived over for the first score after good work from Chris Hamilton and Davy Skipp. Matthew Pentland converted the difficult conversion to push Dee into a 7-0 lead.

Cavan then enjoyed both possession and territory and tested the Dee’s defence on several occasions but the first up tackles were strong and any threat was quickly dispelled. On the half hour mark Cavan were awarded a penalty on the 10 metre line and opted for a kick at goal. Their out-half calmly slotted it over to cut the deficit to four points.

Five minutes later he repeated the feat to make it a one point game. Dee were lucky not to go into half time behind as a third penalty came back off the post to the relief of the watching supporters.

The second half began in the same fashion with Cavan pushing hard to register a score. However, the Dee continued to keep them at bay with captain Matthew Stockton organising his backline superbly and leading by example with some bone crunching tackles on the opposition.

With ten minutes gone a Cavan forward was shown a yellow card and Dee took full advantage and managed to stretch their lead on fifty-five minutes. Dylan Robinson pounced on a loose ball from a Cavan lineout and after the forwards recycled the ball a couple of times it was Nathan Boyd who wrestled his way over. The conversion was missed to leave the score 12-6.

Six minutes later the Dee went further ahead when Dylan Robinson latched on to a mistimed Cavan lineout throw and crashed over to score. This time Pentland made no mistake with the conversion to give the Dee a 19-6 lead.

For the next fifteen minutes Cavan pummelled away at the Dee line incessantly but to their credit every man in red and green defended as if their lives depended on it and somehow were able to keep their line intact, even when they were reduced to fourteen men with ten minutes to go.

As the match drew to a close a Cavan forward was sent off for violent conduct. From the resulting penalty the Dee put several phases together before Sam Moore went over for the bonus point try under the posts. After the successful conversion the referee brought the game to an end with the final score 26-6 to the Dee.

This was a tough game for the Dee and it was their solid defence throughout that helped them to take all five points. All eighteen players deserve credit for an excellent defensive effort but there was no doubting the man of the match as Matthew Stockton put in a superb performance in the centre of the field and was an inspiration to those around him.

Next week Dee take on North Down neighbours Holywood at Donaldson Park, k.o.2.30pm.