Donaghadee welcomed Coleraine to a bright but very windy Donaldson Park for this vital Qualifying One League game. The previous day’s rain had threatened the fixture but sterling work by the groundstaff produced a reasonably dry if slightly heavy surface. Dee gained some confidence from their bonus point win the previous Saturday whereas Coleraine would have to pick themselves up after their midweek defeat to Bangor.
From the kickoff it was evident that the wind was going to have a major impact on the game as predicted by all the attending “aficionados”. Coleraine elected to play with the wind and down the slope kicking deep into the Dee 22 from the off. The first ten minutes of the game saw the Dee have most of the possession but they found it very difficult to gain any territory due to the wind. When Coleraine did have any possession the Dee defence was resolute and they contested the breakdown wholeheartedly with Stockton, Gordon, Adams and Murray to the fore. The Dee lineout was also operating well with Jack Cooke lording it over his opposite numbers ably supported by Murray and Adams. Half backs Lockhart and McKenzie tried different options to make the hard yards and in one of these Fimdlater made a telling break to get inside the Coleraine half.
On 15 minutes McKenzie made a decisive break and following some great support from Allen and Irvine, Rory Garnham was released and showed good strength in touching down in the corner. The missed conversion gave the Dee a much deserved 5-0 lead. Coleraine got their first points from a penalty on 21 minutes but this was very much against the run of play as the Dee were very much in control of the game with most of the possession - although gaining territory proved difficult. The remainder of the half saw the Dee pressurise the Coleraine defence and were very unfortunate on a number of occasions not to add to their slender lead. David Murray was very much to the fore with his strong running but unfortunately the wind made it very easy for Coleraine to clear their lines and gain massive yardage downfield. The Dee, however, were very much in control and at the half time whistle would surely have felt very confident going into the second half with the elements in their favour and a slender lead of 5-3.
The second half saw Donaghadee kick off deep into the Coleraine 22 who soon discovered that it was going to be very difficult to gain any territory through kicking. There was lots of strong running from Coleraine and especially centre Rankin but they invariably appeared to run out of support or knock on at crucial times. The Dee always looked dangerous in attack with Lockhart and McKenzie looking to release the backline at every opportunity. Eight minutes had gone when McKenzie fired out a long pass once again to Allen who made 50 yards before being tackled and Garnham in support could not collect a difficult pass. This was to be the feature of the play for the next fifteen minutes as the Dee continued to apply the pressure but were unable to hold on to the vital pass.
Twenty minutes into the second half and Ali Barnes made a storming run and although there had been a knock on before touching down, the resulting 5 metre scrum to Coleraine only added to the pressure. From this scrum the clearance kick was charged down by Finn who touched down for the second try of the game which was converted to give Dee a deserved 12-3 lead. There was a feeling the Dee were in complete control of the game at this stage and there was very little in the Coleraine play to suggest they would pose a serious threat. They did try very hard throughout but with the wind advantage Dee were able to maintain the territorial advantage with some very astute tactical kicking. In fact, after one of these clearance kicks, Coleraine returned the kick only for McKenzie to collect the ball and put through a delicate chip for the supporting Dee players and resulting in the ever present Stockton completing the touchdown for try number three and a score line of 17-3.
The remaining minutes of the game saw both teams try to play running rugby and Coleraine gave their all in trying to get another score in an effort to secure the losing bonus point. In the dying seconds of the game, Coleraine had forced their way into the Dee 22 only to turnover possession and when the ball was fed to McKenzie he once again fired out one of his trademark long passes to the ever present Allen who, after side-stepping a couple of opponents, went on a solo eighty metre dash to touch down under the posts and give the Dee a deserved bonus point and a final score of 24-3 following the successful conversion. The final whistle was blown - which came as a relief to Billy as the writer is not sure he could have walked back up the hill.
A much deserved win which surely must have pleased coaches Hennessey and McKenzie. There were a lot of young players on display and the commitment and desire to win from all was very evident. This was most definitely a team effort with every player giving his all and if the writer was pushed to give a man of the match it would be to the very impressive Stockton followed by Murray who carried forcefully all afternoon. This was an excellent all round performance with total commitment and intensity throughout.