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| Limavady (06) vs Armagh (17) |
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30th November 2009
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Solid mist had descended on the temporary pitches for this Junior Cup Round robin match. It was a shabby and scrappy match from the start. Armagh knew coming up that they could not take anything for granted and Limavady did not take this game lightly. Heavy hits from both sides meant that this encounter was physical from the first whistle to the last.
The early pressure was all Armagh and they were unfortunate not to capitalise from this. A good break and run from full back Johnny Steenson saw the visitors on the 5m line. But it was only after a reversal of play to the home side that Armagh got another chance to challenge. The challenge was abruptly stopped by Limavady giving away a penalty and Adam Gowing cleanly struck the ball to make it 0-03.
The usual clean lineout ball suffered a hiccup in this match and Limavady took advantage to take the play away from the strong Armagh forwards. But again the home team could not take the chances they created and they handed another chance at the sticks to Gowing.
Even with the failing light Gowing did not miss and took the score to 6-0. After the restart Limavady team seemed to emerge a different team and dominated all passages of play even against the referees decision.
But it was not to last and they again handed a penalty to the boot of Gowing. Kicking like a dream the ball seemed to float of his boot and glide straight between the posts. The first half ended on a high with a superb run combination from Irwin, Steenson and Gowing, that was only stopped by excellent defence work on the part of the Limavady black line.
A healthy scoreline of 3 penalties to no reply finished off a competitive first forty minutes of rugby and the second half began in the same vein with the home team closing down every avenue open to the visitors.
Even a spark of the Armagh that we have come to expect this season was closed down and a penalty awarded to Limavady, which their number 12 cleanly struck to close the deficit to just 06 points.
However, Armagh saw themselves awarded a clear penalty but this time Gowing could not make it count and the scoreline remained the same at 03-09.
a sloppy period of play from Armagh allowed Limavady back into the game and a chance to get another 3 points as they were awarded another try. This seemed to galvanise Armagh back into the game and with two sublime charge downs on the ball by Matty Wright and a solid scrum to ruck formation, Armagh where back up the pitch to the Limavady 5m line.
A penalty fell to the boots of Gowing and he duly made the score 06-12, but the drama was by no means over. The only mar on the game however did come in the shape of a headbutt from a Limavady player which resulted in the players immediate sending off.
Thankfully this did nothing to diminish the intensity of the game and both teams continued in the same style. The game finished on a high that it did not deserve with a excellent run and try from Manu in the corner, but it could not be converted even by the silky boot of Gowing.
Armagh next face Dromore in a rare floodlight match this Friday at the Palace Grounds and coach Andy Hughes knows that this game will be just as tough as all the others. "Armagh are playing well this season and we know that we have a target on us as the team to beat. Therefore we will be treating this match as if it is our first and not taking our opponents lightly" |
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