17th Feb 2013

Gorey's Run In Towns Cup Comes To An End 

Gorey's run in the Towns Cup came to an end on Sunday last when they went down 20 - 18 to Cill Dara in an exciting game in the Curragh.

Gorey went into the game as underdogs as Cill Dara from Division 1A would be fancied to win, but Gorey will come away wondering how they lost this game.

Having played with wind in the first half Gorey ended the half 8 - 0 up. This was no more than Gorey deserved as they controlled the game for long periods and probably should have been further ahead.

A Gary Jones penalty and a try by player coach Philip Horan after tremendous work by the pack was the difference between the two teams. 

Gorey played into the wind in the second half and put great pressure on Cill Dara but could not cross the line to take the score into double figures. Cill Dara though got a lucky break when Gorey failed to deal with a long kick down field, some mishandling by the Gorey backs allowed Cill Dara to score under the posts to take the score to 8 - 7. A yellow card for Ben Horan saw Gorey reduced to 14 men and Cill Dara took full advantage to score a try and convert. A further drop goal saw Gorey 17 - 8 down with 15 minutes on the clock.

But this Gorey team don't throw in the towel easy and a number of changes saw Gorey take the game to a different level as they moved the ball at every opportunity. The home team were struggling to deal with the Gorey pressure and finally Matt Bater scored for Gary Jones to shave the post with his conversion attempt.

Gorey were not done yet and when John Mannion finished off a fantastic move to score in the corner to leave the score at 18 - 17 to Gorey.

With minutes on the clock Cill Dara were awarded a penalty on the halfway line for their kicker to send the ball between the posts to break the hearts of the huge Gorey support.

Gorey had fantastic performances from all but a special mention must go to the young guns who again delivered on the big stage. This was another step up for this Gorey team and shows that they would not be out of place in the top division.

Click here for more match photos from our gallery 

C Smith B O Connor T Tomkins S Gardiner A Copeland JP Redmond capt. M Woods P Horan R Jones G Jones J Mannion C Peavoy B Dennehy K Breen T Sheehy K O Rourke M Batter C Allen B Horan A O Brien