Match report by Geoff Ingham

Donaghadee and Randalstown entertained the crowd with an eight try thriller at Donaldson Park on Saturday afternoon in a Kukri Championship League game. With several players, including captain Matthew Stockton still on the long-term injury list, there were several changes to the Dee teamsheet. Phil Collins came into the front row and Owen Roberts made a welcome return to the second row. In the back row young Robbie Grant was making his 1st XV debut after an impressive performance in his first game for the seconds the previous week. The only change in the backline saw Chris Scott coming onto the wing with Robbie Ingham dropping back to fullback. Ali Barnes and Johnny Gamble both started on the bench. After the considerable amount of overnight rain the spectators were hoping the moist conditions underfoot would not ruin the game as a spectacle and thankfully they were not to be disappointed. The first quarter of the game was a tight affair with neither team able to dominate either possession or territory. Both sides were guilty of handling errors when on the attack but both defences were able to deal with any threats that were created. Ill-discipline almost cost the Dee on one occasion but the penalty kick drifted wide of the posts. After 23 minutes the Dee cleared the ball to touch just inside the Randalstown half and their winger decided to take a quick line out which caught out the Dee defence and the Randalstown centre ran through to score in the corner. The difficult kick was converted to take the score to 7 -0. Five minutes later the Dee had a score of their own when scrum half Ali Lockhart pounced on the ball when it shot out of the Randalstown scrum and scurried 30 metres to score in the corner. Cooper missed the difficult conversion to leave the score at 7 -5. The Dee continued to dominate in this period and some fine driving by the forwards resulted in Chris Scott and Robbie Ingham being stopped just short of the line. After an excellent scrum on the 5 metre line Dee were awarded a penalty and opted for the kick to touch. A good take in the line out by Sam Ingham allowed the Dee pack to create a good driving maul and debutant Robbie Grant crashed over to score. The conversion was missed and the half came to a close with the Dee holding a slender 10-7 lead. Almost from the kick off the lead changed hands when Dee failed to field a box kick and the ball bounced into the arms of the Randalstown flanker who sprinted from the halfway line to score under the posts. The easy conversion was successful to take the score to 14-10 in favour of the visitors. Dee then narrowed the lead to a point when Ali Barnes secured a good turnover and Cooper slotted home the penalty. Five minutes later a lack of concentration by the Dee defence saw the Randalstown full back beat several defenders on his way to the line. The conversion was added to stretch the visitor’s lead to 21- 13. At this stage the Dee’s heads could easily have dropped but to their credit the last 20 minutes saw them up their game and produce some of their best rugby of the season. Firstly, after showing good patience working through multiple phases of play to get into the opposition’s 22, Lockhart chipped the ball into empty space behind the defence and Cooper was blatantly obstructed as he ran through. The referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty try and sending the offender to the bin. This numerical advantage did not last long as a Dee player was binned minutes later for a line out offence. Dee had their tails up at this stage and continued to push for the winning score. Strong running by Adam Alexander and Paul Johnston in the centres and astute kicking from Cooper kept Randalstown pinned inside their 22. With 5 minutes to go Dee got their bonus point try when that man Lockhart scored his second of the day when he forced his way over the line. Cooper was successful with the conversion to take the Dee into a 27-21 lead. As the game drew to a close it was the Dee that had the final say, this time Alexander forcing his way over after several good drives by the forwards. The conversion hit the upright as the referee blew for full time leaving the score 32-21 to the Dee and a valuable 5 league points in the bag. So a much improved performance by the whole team this week with almost everyone putting their hand up for man of the match. A great debut by Robbie Grant, the usual high standard from Chris Hamilton, and the excellent play and brace of tries from Ali Lockhart. However, this week’s award goes to Ali Barnes, who made a huge difference to the team when he sprang from the bench, showing his strength in both attack and defence. The next match is a Conference League game at Donaldson Park next Saturday 7th Nov against Omagh 2s at 2.30 pm.