Belfast Harlequins 4’s 21 Donaghadee 2’s 20
Match Reporter - Tom Northey

After the re-arranged fixture of the week before was cancelled due to lack of referee the Dee men turned up to Deramore Park knowing a win would put them in pole position to win the league. And after 10 minutes this seemed to be the case. Donaghadee took the lead through a Chris Scott try under the posts converted by Andy McGrugan; McGrugan added a penalty shortly afterwards to give the Dee a 10-0 lead. However, the away side should probably been further ahead at this stage.
At this point the home side got themselves into gear and consistently made good ground around the breakdown with their powerful and heavier forwards come to the fore. After some sustained pressure and a few Donaghadee lapses the home side scored try number 1, which was converted.
From the restart another Donaghadee error allowed Quins to build up the pressure once more. Although this attack was rebuffed by the away side Quins were soon camped in the Dee 22’ again. Try 2 was soon scored to give the home side a 14-10 lead. The remainder of the half was played at opposite ends of the field with neither side being able to take advantage of any territory gained.
The second half started with Quins in the ascendancy and they were quick to add a third try giving them a 21-10 lead. Finally this woke the Dee men up from their slumber. The Dee performance thus far was sporadic with good play followed immediately by errors to dissipate any momentum gained.
Finally the Dee men got the ascendancy and momentum they craved which resulted in Quins receiving a yellow card for a high tackle. A combination of powerful running by both the forwards and the backs led to a second Donaghadee try, scored by James Cheshire although unconverted; score 21-15.
Everything was going for the visitors now and with the home side still one man down Chris Scott scored his second try out wide, unfortunately the conversion was missed. The score was now 21-20 going into the last 8 minutes and both sides were back to full strength.
The Dee had one final opportunity to get the required score but were unable to convert the chance. Overall a much better performance in the second half but the team left themselves a little too much to do. Even so the league will go down to the last game of the season at home to Ards.