Gorey youths march on
ON A damp and windy Saturday afternoon, second-placed Division 1A side Gorey welcomed undefeated Premier Division side Tullow for a last 16 game in the Leinster Youth Cup.
Both sides are very familiar with each other, having played many times over previous seasons, and Gorey went into the game as underdogs having never secured victory against Tullow to date.
The first-half was a strong, physical tussle, with neither side wanting to concede territory or possession as the forwards squared up in the miserable conditions.
Tullow probed and spread play wide but the Gorey defence stood strong. Gorey tried some clever plays, with strong runs from Alvaro and Dan Doyle through the centre to gain valuable ground.
The 9/10 combination of Will Cooper and Neil Byrne constantly kept play moving with quick passing and some clever kicking, but Tullow stood strong. An absorbing first-half ended 0-0 with neither side giving an inch easily.
The second-half kicked off in much the same manner, with Tullow trying a change of plan with some clever kicking, but full-back Michael McDonald mopped up time and time again.
The attritional level of a physical game saw both teams having to go to the bench, and Gorey lost high energy prop Ross Higgins to an unfortunate head injury.
Tullow continued to push on and a kick through took a bizarre ricochet which fell into chasing Tullow arms. A quick run through the centre resulted in a score under the posts which was easily converted to put the visitors 7-0 up early in the second-half.
Gorey didn’t let the heads drop and continued to work hard, with huge carries on the wing from Reece Price and Niall O’Shaughnessy and from flankers Liam Murphy and Aiden O’Gara as they worked well back into the game and deep into Tullow’s territory.
Gorey’s strong rucking, sustained forward pressure, and pick and goes led to a well-worked try from Dylan Hendy to make it 7-5 midway through the second-half.
The home side had their backs up now and could see the tides turning in their favour, and the well-disciplined defence stuck to their guns with Tullow trying hard to get back into the game.
Gorey continued to ruck, pick and go, with Tom Fanning and Tom Stokes pushing the team back into Tullow’s ‘22. Sustained pressure at the try line against a staunch defensive line eventually saw Gorey touch down through captain Liam Murphy to lead 10-7 with minutes to go.
As expected from a quality side like Tullow, they tried hard to break Gorey in the dying minutes, but strong tackles from Tomás Furlong and D.J. Donnelly among others weathered the storm.
It’s a testament to the coaching ticket that Gorey were able to bring players of the quality of Alex Cousins, James Pender, Kyle Slator and Callum Sheridan from the bench to keep the energy, workrate and quality high.
Tullow continued to push to the final whistle and had worked back into the Gorey five-metre line in the final minute but, as was the case all day, the defence stood strong and, following a home scrum, the ball was kicked to touch for a deserved home victory.
There has never been any doubting the physical strength and playing quality of this team, but a massive mental monkey was kicked from Gorey’s back in beating an excellent Tullow side who will have to be faced again in the future.
For now we look forward to a Leinster Cup quarter-final away to Dundalk in early March.