Donaghadee played Qualifying Two outfit Enniskillen in the second round of the Towns Cup last Saturday and with both teams sharing mixed form in their respective leagues this game offered both clubs a welcome distraction to progress in this prestigious cup competition.

Enniskillen played the first half with a strong wind at their backs into the clubhouse and quickly used this to their advantage. After a couple of half chances to break through the Dee defense they took the lead in the 14th minute when they capitalized on an overlap on the left hand side of the pitch and although Skins winger Charlaton flirted with the touchline whitewash he did just enough to touch down for the first try of the day. The conversion was missed.

The home side could not have offered a more immediate reply scoring their first try in the 16th minute. It was fullback Billy Allen who set the tone with a forceful dart into the visitors 22. The ball was then recycled and it was Max Montgomery who weaved his way through a number of would be tacklers to feed a scoring pass to the oncoming David Murray who finished a fine reply by Donaghadee. Nigel Barker kicked Dee into the lead with a well struck conversion.

Donaghadee enjoyed the better of possession during the first half however an aggressive Enniskillen forward pack disrupted play enough to ensure that the home side at time struggled to build any real momentum in a half that was not helped by the bitter cold temperatures and heavy pitch.
In the 27th minute Donaghadee got their second try of the day after a series of phases close to the Enniskillen line. It was Chris Good who emerged from the bottom of the pile to take the credit for what was a powerful effort from the Dee pack. Barker converted to give the Dee a 14-5 lead.

With the conditions far from perfect a nine point lead appeared to be a useful margin as half time approached and buoyed on by this lead the home side started to play a slightly more expansive style of rugby with young Ryan Irvine, returning from injury, getting an opportunity to make ground on the right wing. It was from a Dee attack on the stroke of the half time whistle that Enniskillen centre Wilkinson read a Dee backline move and intercepted the ball to run unopposed and bring the away side right back into this cup tie.

Half Time Donaghadee 14 – Enniskillen 12.

Nigel Barker gave Donaghadee an early advantage in the second period with a well taken penalty kick in the 42nd minute. Taken from quite some distance Barker kept his effort low to avoid the menacing wind.
At the interval Donaghadee made two changes to their forward personnel with both Kyle Morrow and Ali Barnes quickly making an impact in open play.
Donaghadee continued to dominate set plays and on the 50th minute used their powerful scrum to push over from close range. Dee Number 8 Montgomery touching the ball down from the base of the scrum.
Barker converted to give the home side a 12 point advantage.

Much credit must be given to the Qualifying League 2 outfit who continued to exert their energy on this game and through a number of useful ball carriers continued to ask questions of the Donaghadee defence. The home side in the end had too much quality and experience and were able to grind down the opposition with notable defensive work from Barker and the ever present Gareth Gordon.

Barker edged Donaghadee closer to the quarter final draw in the 62 minute with his second penalty of the day before Max Montgomery delighted the home crowd with a fine solo effort to score his second try of the day in the 78th minute. Montgomery took possession of the ball just inside the opposing 22 and with little room to manoeuvre showed great footwork and balance to weave past a couple of covering tacklers and cross the try line.
Barker converted to bring his own points tally to 14 for the day.

Full Time Donaghadee 34 – Enniskillen 12

.... and the Enniskillen version.....

Donaghadee – 34 Enniskillen – 12

Enniskillen were knocked out of the Town’s Cup following a disappointing display against their Qualifying One opponents, Donaghadee.

'Skins had brought David Taylor and the returning Jamie Johnston into the forwards for this test and having kicked off down the slope in difficult conditions it was imperative that, with the aid of the strong wind, they started strongly and spent time in their hosts “22”. An early attacking kick spelt trouble for the home defence but the follow up from 'Skins was not intense enough and they ended up conceding a penalty, relieving any pressure on the home side.

After fifteen minutes a penalty to 'Skins was somewhat surprisingly kicked to touch when within kicking range and a good opportunity to open the scoring was lost with the resulting lineout. 'Skins did make several drives through the forwards, gaining valuable ground, but rarely threaten the hosts' line. However with twenty minutes gone 'Skins did capitalise on a good handling move with Zac Charleton doing well to score an unconverted try from halfway out.

The lead however was short-lived. From the restart Donaghadee were allowed to regain the ball too easily and gain a scrum inside 'Skins half of the field. From the set piece their scrum-half sniped dangerously and moved the ball to their second row who broke through several less than convincing tackles to score a converted try.

'Skins could not repeat their hosts ability to regain the ball from the restart and several phases later the Donaghadee prop surged over the line for a second converted try.

'Skins tried to fight their way back into the match but were not playing their rugby in the right areas of the field, but just before half time, following a penalty miss, an intercept try from easily 'Skins’ best player on the day, Alan Wilkinson, left the half-time score 14 – 12, giving them some hope.

After half-time Donaghadee immediately kicked the ball deep into the 'Skins half and proceeded to stay there for the rest of the game, firstly converting a penalty after just thirty seconds to make it 17 – 12. The 'Skins scrum had been holding up well but after ten minutes of the second half Donaghadee took advantage of a five-metre scrum to power over for a converted try to effectively seal the game at 24 – 12.

'Skins simply couldn't get out of their own half as Donaghadee's half-backs controlled the game. A further penalty increased the lead and in the last minute a 'Skins handling error gifted a further converted score to leave the final score 34 – 12.

This defeat ends Enniskillen’s interest in all cup competitions at an early stage, the first time for some years, and they do need to retain their focus to get a maximum return from remaining league games, something that they can only do if they play with more commitment and rugby “nous” than was shown on Saturday to the loyal band of supporters.