Enniscorthy’s narrow victory
Gorey rue missed chances
Games are won and lost on incidents and early in the second-half Gorey had the chance to extend their lead when James Nolan weaved his way through the defence, to be stopped just in front of the posts.
A simple two on one should have seen Gorey score but they somehow managed to fluff their lines. Enniscorthy were not as wasteful and in the 46th minute they drew level with a simple score when Ivan Poole put David O’Dwyer under the posts for the former to tap over the conversion.
At 14-14 both teams were now throwing caution to the wind as Enniscorthy tried to break down a resolute Gorey and, from an infringement at a scrum, Poole put the visitors in front for the first time.
Within minutes Gorey restored their lead when Stevie Gardiner gathered from the kick-off. Gorey ramped up the pressure, with the ball worked through the backs and forwards to arrive at the Enniscorthy line for Gardiner to touch down, with Steven Horan just wide with the conversion attempt.
Gorey kept the pressure up and should have extended their lead but somehow managed to pass up another clearcut chance with a three on one. Minutes later they did manage to extend their lead to 22-17 with another Horan penalty.
But a one-score lead is always dubious and with minutes left on the clock Enniscorthy struck for what proved to be the winning score as Gorey failed to clear their lines effectively.
A number of pick and drives by the Enniscorthy forwards eventually saw Tom Ryan go in under the posts to draw the teams level, with Ivan Poole having the simple task to put two between the sides.
The clock was now against Gorey and 24 22 was how it ended. This was a game that either side could have won but Gorey will rue at least two clearcut chances that might have given them victory.
On the other hand, Enniscorthy were not as wasteful and move into second place as D.L.S.P. suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of Boyne.
No games will be played next weekend, with an away trip for Gorey the following week to Dundalk.
Gorey: J. Mulligan, B. O’Connor, D. Bellanova, D. O’Leary, S. Gardiner, K. Breen, J. Ahern, B. Horan, S. Horan, M. Swarts, A. Walsh, S. Duke, J. Nolan, T. New, D. Shannon (capt.), F. Bolger, D. Gregan, C. Butler, M. Whelan, G. Bater.
Enniscorthy: A. Todisco, D. Murphy, P. Waters, J. Carley, J. Daly, J. White, T. Ryan, N. Doyle, A. Dunne, K. Lett, D. O’Dwyer, I. Poole, D. Pim, I. Jacob, R. Dunne, E. Lett, H. O’Neill, A. White, T. Farrar, T. Stamp.
NEW ROSS CARLOW
CARLOW TRAVELLED to Southknock on Sunday as Division 2A leaders and hoping to retain and extend their lead.
However, it was third-placed New Ross who had the better of the early exchanges, steadily controlling play before a scintillating exhibition of skill involved Gavin Mernagh picking up from the tail of a line-out and David Crowdle then cutting back inside to register the opening points after ten minutes.
Three minutes later, Carlow broke away following poor first up missed tackling and scored their opener in the left corner, with the additional points being added by their young full-back.
Ross were back in front again after 20 minutes when another piece of sublime handling saw David Crowdle put brother, Matt, through for a five-pointer.
Throughout the remainder of the first-half, Ross performed well at scrum and breakdown but were a little less efficient when it came to putting the opposition to ground early.
Carlow were taking advantage of the errors to make large advances without actually making it count on the scoreboard.
The second-half opener was a penalty conversion from the tee by Gavin Mernagh on the 45th minute, and ten minutes later Carlow were successful with one of their own.
The second Carlow try followed swiftly after when the missed tackle count finally cost Ross dearly.
The game pulsed from end to end until, with 71 minutes on the clock, Carlow registered their third try and moved two scores clear at a critical juncture.
Ross never gave up and launched attack after attack but were unable to find the breakthrough needed before Carlow secured the bonus point try in injury time to leave the final score 29-13 - a margin not accurately reflecting the closeness of the encounter.
A notable point about this match was the presence of four sets of brothers on the Ross team.
Contenders for man of the match included Gavin Mernagh, Kevin Browne, James Ryan and Kyle Roche, but the award goes to the captain, David Crowdle.
New Ross: James Bryan, Shane Roche, Kevin Browne, Bryan Harte, Kyle Roche, Tim Coughlan, Joe Coughlan, James Ryan, Gavin Mernagh, Kevin Burke, Eanna Burke, David Crowdle (capt.), Matt Crowdle, Paudie Barden, Barry Walsh, Bob Dempsey, Breen Howlin, Kieran Treacy, Gary Murphy, Dean Prendergast.