Under-14s draw comfort fro
AFTER a tense nail-biter at Mill Road the previous Friday night which Dundalk Under-14s narrowly lost, spirits were high travelling to Navan against arguably the best team they had faced last season.
Dundalk have been putting massive work in this pre season and are quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with at under-14 level, however the acid test would be against the mighty Navan on their home turf.
For the first time coaches Mark and Gerry had almost a full squad to choose from and the boys were chomping at the bit to put their best foot forward.
Like against Skerries the previous week Dundalk came flying out of the traps, enjoying the lions share of territory with the forwards on fire putting severe pressure on the Navan back line and forcing many errors. In attack the lads were showing great flair, running great lines and putting Navan under severe pressure with a few scoring chances almost converted.
The break through came in the 10th minute, scrum half Conall O’Callaghan spotting space in behind the Navan backline and putting a lovely chip for winger Leo McRuairi to chase which went into touch around the Navan 10 metre line. From the ensuing line out lock Joseph Pheifer stole a
superb ball when he really had no right to do so and made great ground inside the Navan 22. The ball was recycled and moved quickly to centre Luke Andrews who cut a sumptuous line to cross for the first try. Out Half Robert Malone superbly slotted a tricky conversion too make it 7-0.
After a few more narrow misses and as the clock was ticking towards half time Dundalk switched off after conceding a penalty inside their own 22 after Navan had enjoyed a rare period of pressure inside the Dundalk half. As Dundalk switched off Navan quickly tapped and went and powered over the line, with the conversion making it 7-7 which was harsh on Dundalk.
There was, however, enough time for the restart which was taken and Dundalk won possession and after a few phases the ball made its way to Niall Brennan who crossed for a