Donaghadee 1st XV travelled to The Glynn last Saturday for a Towns Cup second round tie against Larne – a side who had beaten them 32-15 in a league game earlier in the season in a result which may have slightly flattered the winners with two late scores but was nonetheless deserved. Larne will have looked forward the game with some confidence given that result but, this is a much changed Dee side over the past month and the visitors were certain they would give a much better account of themselves this time out. In terms of personnel Matthew Johnston returned to the Dee side after missing the Carrick game and Matthew Martin came on to the bench.

Playing up the hill and into the wind Donaghadee began strongly and after almost ten minutes pressure Larne were penalised for a high tackle on Chris Good wide on their own twenty two and Dee centre stepped up to convert and to give the Dee an early lead of 3-0. Larne returned to the fray and pressed the Dee line on a number of occasions but the visiting defence remained firm and turnover ball took them out of their own territory where a penalty at the end of the first quarter on the opposition ten metre line was kicked deep into the home twenty two. Dee second row Jack Cooke secured ball and the Dee maul – which had been dominating all first half – moved towards the line. Successive drives were repelled by the stout home defence but eventually – with Larne’s peripheral defenders sucked in – the ball was moved wide to allow left wing Andy Jarvis to go over in the corner for an unconverted try. The Dee now had to make an enforced change when scrum-half Chris Scott had to exit proceedings with a turned ankle with Paul Johnston moving to No. 9 from the centre where he was replaced by Johnny Quigg with flanker Conn Crawford coming off the bench play on the right-wing. The enforced reorganisation took the Dee a little time to get used to and, in the meantime, Larne attacked through forwards and backs alike until the ball was spread wide for home No. 9 Garret to go over in the corner for an unconverted try. On the restart the Dee were now playing their best rugby of the season with Cooke, Good, Chris Hamilton, Paul Hamilton and Matty Johnston rampant up front and the Johnston / Paul Blewitt half-back axis orchestrating play behind them. Try as they might though – they could not breach the home defence and, completely against the run of play, Larne broke way downfield and despite determined defence from skipper Gareth Gordon and Billy Allen sustained pressure let the home pack scrape over for a second try on the stroke of half-time. Again the kick was missed but, at half-time, Larne were now in the lead by 10-8.

As the second-half commenced the Dee – for whom Sam Ingham had been replaced in the second-row by Martin after the recurrence of a back niggle – took advantage of the elements which were now in their favour to win a line-out in the Larne twenty-two after an impressive thirty metre maul towards home territory. Lineout ball was secured and the Dee mauled towards the line with Matty Johnston ripping ball over the line to score. With Cooper adding the extras the Dee had moved into a 15-8 lead and now both sides traded offensive blows with no addition to the scoreboard for a period of some twenty minutes before clever orchestration from the base of the ruck pressurised Larne in their own red zone. With clean ball won Johnston accurately fed Blewitt and the mercurial No. 10 calmly dropped a goal from the twenty-two to give his side a 23-10 lead. Two minutes later successive mauls again had the home side on the rack and ball was fed on the blindside to Hamilton who went over in the right hand corner for an unconverted try to let the Dee stretch to a thirteen point lead. With just over ten minutes remaining the Dee support considered the game won but the abrasive Larne side had other ideas and naïve defence let Garrett in on the blindside for a try wide out which remained unconverted. Larne punted from the Dee kick-off straight to Cooke who was deep in his own half and, as he gathered momentum, the big lock took off on a sixty metre run brushing aside despairing Larne defence before being brought down five metres from the line. With their defensive line fully stretched Larne infringed at the ensuing ruck and Cooper converted the simple penalty in front of the posts to take the Dee to a 26-15 lead with under five minutes remaining. Straight from the kick-off the never say die Larne men regained possession and after exposing the Dee wide defence kicked to the corner where their flanker fielded to drop over the Dee line and score – the conversion was again missed but a score 26-20 on seventy nine minutes left the visiting side nervously awaiting the final whistle. Larne returned to the attack but the Dee defence was holding firm where, as they had done all afternoon, Gordon, Paul Hamilton, Chris Hamilton and Gareth Deering, Allen and Cooper were putting in a huge amount of work. With the clock on 84 minutes a melee broke out in midfield and the upshot was that the referee showed Jarvis a red card and the ensuing penalty moved Larne to a lineout ten metres from the Dee line. Larne secured ball but, try as the home side might, the Dee defence remained resolute and, with six minutes injury time played, the referee blew his whistle for no side and the Dee had progressed to the Quarter Finals of the Powerade Towns Cup.

This was a fine cup game in which no quarter was given or asked. Donaghadee – whilst delighted with the result and their level of performance in attack – will undoubtedly be looking to address the defensive frailties on the training paddock this incoming week which haunted them during a game in which they were clearly the better side for much of the afternoon. Larne, for their part, will look forward to the return league game at Donaldson Park in two weeks’ time when they will undoubtedly be seeking a reversal in fortune. Standout performances from Good, Cooke, Martin, the two Hamiltons, Cooper, Paul Johnston and Allen but Man of the Match this week goes to Matty Johnston (pictured) whose work in defence, attack, lineout, ruck and maul was exemplary and was a source of inspiration to the team mates around him. The Dee now look forward to the draw for the Quarter Finals which will comprise the following sides:

Portadown
Bangor
Donaghadee
Enniskillen
Ballymoney
Ballynahinch
Omagh
Armagh or Clogher Valley