Towns Cup 1st Round - Gorey win at home to Mullingar
25/01/2015
Towns Cup 1st Round - Gorey win at home to Mullingar
The match was played in dry conditions with a strong breeze blowing down the pitch from the direction of the clubhouse. Gorey opted to play with the wind in the first half. It was Mullingar who made all the early running and looked the sharper of the two. This was to reflect on the score sheet as their fullback Jonathan Butler punished the home side, with two penalties, after Gorey infringed at the rucks. Further pressure from Mullingar could have put them further in front but Butler was just wide with two attempts. With five minutes remaining in the first half Gorey finally managed to get a break when a long spiral kick, from Brendon Spears, cleared the head of the Mullingar winger to give Gorey a foothold in the Mullingar 22. From the lineout Gorey worked through the phases and a move, straight off the training ground, saw Andrew Walsh slice through the Mullingar defence to score their opening try. Shane Luby was just wide with the conversion. Halftime saw Mullingar hold the lead 6 - 5 but on the balance of play they could have been further ahead.
The second half saw Gorey up their game and put major pressure on Mullingar, but the visitors defence was strong and after a sustained bout of Gorey pressure a great turnover saw them clear their line. Gorey still kept coming and were moving the ball at pace, but an intercept saw the Mullingar centre, race from his own 22, to score a try for Jonathan Butler to convert. Gorey were now 13 - 5 down and were staring at an early exit from the 2015 Towns Cup, but this team does not give up easily. The next ten minutes saw Gorey throw caution to the wind as they attacked the Mullingar line non stop. Finally the cracks began to appear as the pack worked through the phases and quick ball through the backs saw John Condren crash over in the corner. They say you need luck to win cup matches, and Gorey truly got that, when Shane Lubys conversion attempt hopped off the crossbar and over to bring them within one point. The restart saw Gorey immediately penalised and Johnathan Butler duly obliged to put four points between the teams. Again Gorey had to fight back, and with Shane Luby growing in confidence he orchestrated his forwards and moved the ball wide for John Condren to go over in the corner for his second and Gorey's third try. This was to put Gorey in the lead for the first time. The last ten minutes saw Mullingar trying to run from everywhere but a good Gorey defence saw them close out the game, on a scoreline of 17 - 16, to loud cheers from the home support.
This was a cracking cup match played between two sporting teams. Gorey will know that they got the rub of the green to win this, but it's their name that went into the hat at 5pm and they can look forward to a trip to Division 1A side Clondalkin on February 22nd. Gorey had to dig deep today but had some big performers with JP Redmond, Jordan Ahern, Geoff Dunne and Fergal Bolger the pick of a busy pack. Andrew Walsh, John Condren, Sean Byrne and Garett Bater showed well in the backs. The next home game is on Saturday February 8th for a crunch league game against Malahide with kick off at 7.30pm.
Team - C Allen, B O Connor, R Deering, A Copeland, JP Redmond, J Ahern (Capt), M Woods, G Dunne, G Bater, S Luby, A Walsh, S Byrne, B Spears, J Condren, PJ Clince, J Mulligan, A O Brien, K Breen, G Mullins, F Bolger.
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