Bray People

’Stones take positives from defeat

- AIL DIVISION 2A

GREYSTONES RFC MALONE RFC 14 55

IT is hard to escape the final scoreline that records an emphatic victory for Ulster Bank league Division 2A leaders Malone RFC over bottom side Greystones but as is often the case the story behind the scoreline reflects a different game.

Sure there is a truism in sport that the league table provides a pretty accurate reflection of how teams are performing so when Malone travelled down from Belfast for their visit to Dr Hickey Park sporting a record of one defeat in eight league encounters to take on a Greystones side sporting just one victory for their effort this season the bookies would have been sitting secure with their odds offering a bonus point victory for the visitors.

And the league table does not lie. Despite a spirited showing by the home side who matched the league leaders for much of the game Greystones were eventually out powered by the impressive Belfast side as they ran in a total of six second half tries and eight in total to head back up the M1 with a bonus-point victory and their position at the top of the table enhanced while Greystones continue to prop up the table..

The final score of 55–14 to the visitors might go down a one sided result but Greystones can still take a lot of positives from the game.

They competed throughout, matching their stronger opponents blow for blow but were undone by a couple of opportunis­tic charge down tries at crucial moments of the game and were blitzed in a 10-minute spell late in the second half to put an unlikely gloss on the scoreline.

Malone opened the scoring after just two minutes when wing Rory Campbell opted to kick for the posts for an early three point advantage followed five minutes later by the first of their two first half tries when captain Ross Todd powered his way over.

Greystones have been guilty of early lapses this season but were not going to lie down and responded almost straight away when Jack Keating broke the Malone line on the half way and outsprinte­d the defence in impressive style to score.

Andrew Kealy converted to close to within three after ten minutes and for long periods there was nothing to suggest this was a top versus bottom encounter. Indeed if field position or possession stats were measured Greystones were clearly the side on top laying siege to the Malone line but failing to make the critical breakthrou­gh.

Malone had to dig deep and set the hosts back on their heels with a score against the run of play when winger David McMaster broke clear to finish a move down the left wing to touch down after 20 minutes. Still there was nothing to suggest what would happen in the second half as Greystones continued to pressure the Malone without reward

Malone’s rise to the top of the table and to tag as favourite’s for promotion to Division one next season has been built on a combinatio­n of a powerful backline with strike runners hitting from every position and a pack bolstered by three Ulster Senior Academy players in the front and back row. Flanker Matt Dalton who looked a class apart all afternoon was fresh from capturing his first senior cap for Ulster on Friday night when he replaced Kieran Treadwell on 70 minutes playing an important part in Ulster’s last gasp win over Treviso.

Greystones coach Kevin Lewis won’t allow these resources to be seen as any excuse, “this is the level we want to be playing at and our own players aspire to. We have exceptiona­l talent in our own side who acquitted themselves as equals for much of the game but fell off in the final quarter to leave a with score line that failed to do justice to the effort of our players,” he commented after the game.

Greystones plans for containing the threat suffered a setback just 60 seconds after the restart when full-back Bryans broke through for their third try but they stayed committed and kept Malone on the back foot for much of the third quarter.

That resilience was fatally broken on the hour mark when McMaster grabbed his second from another charge down and the Malone backs ran riot in the final quarter running in four more tries in 10 minutes from Callum Smith, Michael Cartmill, Jack Owens and Michael Shiels to put the visitors out of sight. In all Campbell knocked over seven conversion­s and a penalty.

Greystones never gave up and grabbed a consolatio­n score at the death when Eoin Marmion broke clear from a ruck to cross which young full-back Matt O’Brien converted as the clock struck 80 minutes.

Despite the heavy defeat, coach Kevin Lewis was focussed on the positives from the encounter.

It is an anomaly of the All Ireland League structure that Division 2 clubs in Ulster and Connacht can field what are effectivel­y full-time profession­al players from the Academies whilst in Leinster this is the preserve of the Division 1A clubs.

Neverthele­ss, Lewis won’t allow his side to dwell on this believing they can learn from such encounters.

“Sure the final score is not pretty but we started and finished well and had the upper hand for much of the game. Our pack, facing three full time Ulster Academy players put in a great performanc­e. Young Conor Pearce facing up against Peter Cooper never took a backward step and will only gain from the experience. Their power and pace in the backline was our undoing in the end but full credit to our players, particular­ly young Michael Kirk and Matt O’Brien who stepped up with big performanc­es. We have two equally tough fixtures over the next couple of weeks against another side sprinkled with Ulster Academy talent in Queens University who lie just behind Malone in the table. We play them away next Saturday and then at home the following week and know if we maintain our level of performanc­e for the full 80 minutes we are quite capable of taking points from these games,” said Lewis.

These match ups with top of the table sides will certainly hone Greystones for vital games early in the new year when they face the teams just ahead of them in the table with fixtures against Blackrock at home at the beginning of January followed by at trip to Galwegians a couple of weeks later and hopefully bolstered by one or two players returning from injury will see a change of fortune and league position in the second half of the season.

Greystones: Matt O’Brien, jack Keating, Michael Kirk, Craig Hazelton, Paudie Geoghegan, Andrew Kealy (Capt) Andy Roberts, Bobby Clancy, Ben Tou, Conor Pearce, Michael Douglas, Barry Fitzpatric­k, Cormac O’Donoghue, Eoin Marmion, Mick Doyle. Replacemen­ts: Kevin Moes, Shane Mulvaney, Chris Simmonds, Jason Curran, David Baker

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 ??  ?? Jack Keating slips by Rory Campbell during the AIL Division 2A clash between Gr
Jack Keating slips by Rory Campbell during the AIL Division 2A clash between Gr
 ??  ?? Andrew Kealy is lifted in a tackle against Malone.
Andrew Kealy is lifted in a tackle against Malone.

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