Hard fought win over Seapoint set up Turks for Sligo test
Kanturk 16, Seapoint 12
‘CONCENTRATION LADS’ is the message from the sidelines at injury time to 14 man Kanturk as Seapoint scrum right in front of the posts.
Solid defensive scrummaging by the Turks means the Dublin side need to move the ball out wide, huge screams from the touch line but somehow the Kanturks defence force the knock on. Relief is then followed by jubilation in blustery Knocknacolan while frustration can be seen on the face of Lions legend Eric Miller as the fulltime whistle is blown.
This was Kanturk’s best performance of the season in an epic All Ireland League battle last Saturday.
Kanturk took the lead with a try resulting from a brilliant block down by the outstanding Steven McAuliffe on 20 minutes.
The response from the Dublin side was two penalty attempts at the post which were missed in typical windy Knocknacolan conditions. Seapoint did get on the scoreboard minutes afterwards, with a well worked try from the lineout which opened a hole in the Kanturk defence giving the opportunity for Zach Jungmann to crash over the line.
Kanturk marched down the field minutes later in the half, to earn a penalty which was brilliantly converted, by Conor Cremin some 30 metres out which left the score 8-7 at the break.
The second half was nail biting for supporters, but thoroughly enjoyable for the neutral.
Kanturk got off to a brilliant start through the intervention of player coach Ben Martin, who rolled back the years to outfox the Dublin side’s defence and pass the ball to David Fitzpatrick who finished superbly to put The Turks 13-7 in front. The veteran Australian was on hand again minutes later this time in defence with a magnificent tackle which stopped a certain try.
A try did come minutes later, from a hopeful kick through midfield that somehow Zac Jungmann touched down in the corner. This left the score at 13-12 with 20 minutes to go.
The pressure continued from the Dublin side, but Kanturk’s defence at the breakdown, lead by Ciaran Boyce (who possibly had his best game ever in a green jersey) was immense. The forwards were aided by Ben Martin and Steven McAulliffe in the backline who used the wind effectively to punish the Dublin side as a result of Kanturk’s hard fought turnovers. This pressure at the breakdown lead to another penalty against Seapoint for deliberately slowing down the ball which the ever dependable Conor Cremin slotted between the posts.
The last 15 minutes were incredibly tense with supporters on both sides staring at the clock but Kanturk held out, with a sense that perhaps they wanted the victory more.
TEAM: B Kelleher, E Roycroft, M Daly, C O’Sullivan, B Buckley, A O’Brien, C Boyce, B Daly, C Cremin, S McAuliffe, M Mullally, S Cremin, D Fitzpatrick, D O’Sullivan, B Martin
Tim Cremin Construction Man of the Match: Ciaran Boyce
The defeat of Seapoint on Saturday is a great boast for the forthcoming Sligo fixture. While The Turks deserved their win, this tense game could have gone either way. There was a feeling of an opportunity lost for the South Dublin side of Ross O’Carroll Kelly fame. Seapoint coach Eric Miller, who was a member of the Lions team which defeated South Africa in 1997, articulated this feeling by saying that “this was a game that both sides had their chances”. Others in the South Dublin camp, such as Number 8 Zac Jungmann, lamented “we just did not take the opportunities in the green zone”.
The feeling from the Kanturk dressing room was a sense that team work and togetherness had lead them to victory. Man of the match, Ciaran Boyce, said “we are just happy that we won the game, that’s it”.
Kanturk’s management team can be very satisfied with the teams performance. Australian player coach Ben Martin, noted that the team will continue to evolve. He added that “all the guys are great, we will improve and watch out we have more people coming back”.
Whatever happens next week, there will be little love lost between Kanturk and Connaught side Sligo next week. Fixtures: Saturday, October 1: Sligo v Kanturk, Hamilton Park