Dee welcomed Coleraine to Donaldson Park on Saturday for their final game of the 25/26 season. With the Dee lying firmly in mid table it was the visitors who had everything to play for as a win would put them into a playoff for promotion to Championship 2. It was also a landmark game for Dee captain Matthew Stockton who was playing his 150th game for the 1st XV.

Due to a few players being unavailable the Dee had to shuffle their backline. Stockton moved into out half, Adam Russell partnered Robbie Ingham in the centre and Charlie Wallis came in at full back. In the pack James Harper and Callum Moore started in the front row alongside player coach Ray Dobson.

Although the pitch was extremely moist underfoot the rain stayed away throughout the game. Coleraine were fast out of the blocks and immediately took control of the game, their big forwards punching holes in the Dee’s defence and there was only seven minutes on the clock when they forced their way over for a converted try.

The pressure was unrelenting and they soon doubled their lead when their flanker went over for another converted try.

Dee could hardly get their hands on the ball and their defence was tested continuously, with Charlie Wallis putting in a memorable try saving tackle on the Coleraine winger. However, the pressure soon paid off, this time it was the backs who worked the ball to the right winger who touched down in the corner. The conversion was missed but the score moved to 19-0.

The second quarter continued in the same vein with Coleraine scoring another couple of converted tries. It was not until the final five minutes of the half that the Dee were able to put some phases together and this resulted in their talisman Stockton scoring in the corner on the stroke of half time to leave the score 33-5 to Coleraine.

With Storm Dave arriving at half time the Dee now found themselves playing against a very strong wind. The Dee could well have capitulated at this stage but to their credit everyone of them dug deep and showed excellent commitment to the cause. The Dee had much more possession in the third quarter but against the wind found it difficult to get into the opposition’s half. Whenever the visitors had possession Dee continued to defend heroically with the back row of Ryan Butler, Daniel Onstwedder and Chris Hamilton leading the tackle count.

As the game entered the final quarter Coleraine got a brace of tries, their No 8 touched down from the back of a scrum and then they rumbled over for an unconverted try in the corner. The Dee managed to keep them at bay for the next ten minutes until they registered their final try in the last play of the game to leave the final score 52-5 to Coleraine.

A difficult final game for the Dee against a very good Coleraine team but there was no doubting the effort that the Dee showed throughout the game. Man of the match was Matthew Stockton, not only for how he played on the day but also for the service he has given the club on and off the field over the last decade.