Match Report by Geoff Ingham
Photo Credit - Ian Adamson

Dee welcomed PSNI to Donaldson Park on Saturday to compete in the first round of
the Gordon West Cup. There were only a couple of changes to the Dee’s lineup this
week, Daniel Onstwedder returned from injury to the No8 position and Davy Skipp
took a seat on the bench. The groundstaff had the pitch looking immaculate and the
lovely weather conditions made it ideal for running rugby.

Dee started the stronger and with only four minutes gone scored the opening try. The
ball was moved across the field a couple of times before Chris Hamilton found a gap
in the PSNI defence and ran in to touch down. The conversion was pushed just wide
of the upright.

PSNI drew level five minutes later when they spun the ball wide and
their winger scored in the corner. The difficult conversion was successful to give the
visitors a two-point lead. They then stretched their lead with a successful penalty kick
after fifteen minutes.

Dee then gained control and dominated the second quarter of the game. They levelled things up when Daniel Onstwedder showed great strength by forcing his way over to score. Dee took the lead just before half time when, after several phases of play, they created an overlap to send Cohen Hurley over in the corner to take the score to 15-10.

Dee began the second half in similar fashion, Matthew Stockton quickly grabbing a
try by dancing his way past several hapless defenders and touching down under the
posts. This time Hurley made no mistake with the conversion, bringing the score to
22-10.

Almost immediately the Dee went further ahead with a scintillating try by Dee
winger Aaron McKee. He started in his own 22 and showed his pace by beating
several defenders as he ran into the visitors’ half. He then kicked ahead and as the
ball went over the line he won the race for the touchdown, much to the delight of his
teammates and the crowd.

Ten minutes later Onstwedder picked up from the base of a scrum and was stopped just short of the line. From the resulting ruck Olly Hamilton darted over to score. Hurley kicked the conversion to push the score to 34-10.

On the hour mark the Dee put the result beyond doubt when Sam Ingham made good
ground down the wing before passing inside to Conor Moore who had a clear run in
for a try. Adam McGrath converted, bringing the score to 41-10.

The final quarter was a scrappy affair, the Dee’s momentum stifled by a couple of yellow cards. The visitors took advantage of the two-man advantage and managed to force their way over to score in the corner.

Dee’s defence was tested a couple more times in the final few minutes but they kept the visitors at bay until the referee blew for full time, with the score 41-17 to the Dee.

The Copeland Distillery’s man of the match this week goes to Aaron McKee who had an excellent game, including a thumping tackle in the first half and his wonderful try in the second. This was another solid performance from the Dee but there is still plenty to work at in training before their next league game away to Monaghan on 17th October.