Naas stun Gorey
GOREY NAAS 19 26
A SATURDAY afternoon top of the table Under-14 Division 1A clash certainly lived up to its billing.
With both teams unbeaten and free scoring in the league so far, a wet and windy warm-up saw sunshine break through just before kick-off.
A fast start had Neil Byrne break from the back into the Naas ‘22, and a resulting penalty was charged across the line by captain Liam Murphy and converted to give Gorey an early 7-0 lead.
Strong exchanges followed as Naas made ground and, despite a fierce defensive effort from Gorey, Nass scored in the corner.
Almost straight from the kick-off, a clever break through the centre saw Naas score again under the posts, and the conversion gave them a 12-7 advantage midway through the first-half.
Gorey rallied hard with the forwards digging in, and a succession of pick and goes with big carries from Tom Fanning, Liam Murphy and Dylan Hendy resulted in Aiden O’Gara splitting the Naas defence to level the match (12-12) at half-time.
There was a bruising start to the second-half, with neither side wishing to concede territory or possession.
Strong tackling and hard-fought rucks from both teams for over ten minutes resulted in a Naas score under the posts which they converted to go 19-12 ahead.
Gorey dug back in and the forwards again set to work.
Following a clever pass from Will Cooper, Dan Doyle broke through the centre to take the ball into the Naas 5.
A strong team effort resulted in Tom Stokes driving over the line, and a Reece Price conversion levelled the game (19-19) with minutes to go.
With the game deep in overtime, and two evenly-matched teams in a game neither deserved to lose, a last play converted try from Naas saw the game finish 26-19 in their favour.
Well done to Naas on a hardfought victory, but the Gorey lads will lick their wounds, take the learnings, and use this game to build towards the rest of the season.