Disappointing end to home league campaign

Donaghadee 1st XV welcomed runaway league leaders Limavady to Donaldson Park on Saturday hoping to gain some more traction in their quest for a Top Four play-off place. As has been the norm this season the side selected were deprived of a number of regulars even before both Ally Barnes & Adam Alexander were forced to cry-off a few hours prior to kick-off, Davy Skipp & Aaron Bailie deputising.
Limavady started strongly and after two minutes play took the lead with a penalty after the Dee were caught offside. Three minutes later the Limavady backline exerted all their silky skills to cut through the home defence and allow the visitors to take a 10-0 lead. The Dee now attacked their opponents for the next period of play until eventually a loose ball ended up in Limavady hands and they ran in their second try from their own 22 metre mark to leave the visitors 15-0 up with barely a quarter of an hour played. To compound Donaghadee difficulties hooker Paul Hamilton was yellow carded for killing the ball on the ground in the red zone and two minutes later the Limavady No. 8 did well to pick up from a retreating scrum on the Dee ten metre mark and even better to evade despairing Dee defence to score an unconverted try. With the Dee now twenty points down with twenty minutes played the side, who heretofore appeared to be standing back in admiration of their opponents abilities, now took the game to Limavady with Robbie Grant, Max Montgomery, Ray Dobson & Chris Hamilton to the fore. After thirty three minutes Limavady had one of their second rows yellow carded and after a succession of attacks driven by some great lineout ball from Sam Ingham skipper Mark Cooper fed Karl Yellop on a crash ball and the burly centre forced his way over the line to score and unconverted try. Sadly Donaghadee now lost Yellop’s centre partner Ben Beattie to injury with Chris Hamilton moving to midfield and Owen Roberts coming off the bench. Despite this further setback, with three minutes of injury time played, repeated Dee forays into Limavady territory eventually ended with scrum-half Ally Lockhart profiting from a tap penalty and going over for the home side’s second try of the afternoon. This score was again unconverted and half-time was reached with the Dee trailing Limavady by 20-10.

Donaghadee began the second half as they had left the first with some crunching defence turning over ball - Callum Montgomery and Davy Skipp particularly prominent. Grant, Dobson, Yellop, Morgan Paulin & Robbie Ingham had good runs before sustained pressure had the Limavady pack reeling on their heels. Successive ball was recycled by the Dee men as they attacked in the Limavady twenty-two and inter passing in midfield appeared to be just about to open up the visitor’s defence before their impressive No. 13 read the final pass and intercepted to run the length of the field and score a converted try. This proved to be the game changer and instead of being only a potential three points behind the Dee were now 27-10 down. Donaghadee continued to have most of the territory for the remainder of the half but were denied by solid Limavady defence and astute & accurate kicking from their out-half. Eventually the fact that Donaghadee were not taking any dividend from their efforts took it’s toll and Limavady ran in two late tries as the hosts began to tire. Final score 39-10 to Limavady.

A disappointing final home league game for the Dee then – whilst there is no doubting the quality of the Limavady side Donaghadee will rue both their slow start and that interception score when they could have been back in the game at 20-17. On the plus side the set scrum had the opposing eight under pressure for most of the game and sustained quality ball from the lineout allowed the Dee to add a dynamic to their game which is not always there. On the Man of the Match front gritty performances from the Hamiltons, Montgomerys, Inghams, Grant, Yellop & Dobson but the award this week goes to Ally Lockhart – a thorn in Limavady’s side all afternoon. Next week the side travel to Academy for their penultimate league game before visiting Ards on the 9th April for what promises to be a keenly contested derby day.