O’Neill try proves decisive in Terenure’s success

Terenure 14 Clontarf 9

Daire Walsh

STEPHEN O’Neill’s first-half try was the difference between the teams at Lakelands Park, as Terenure College continued their dream start to life in Division 1A of the Ulster Bank League.

This was the fifth win from as many outings for the hosts this season and increases their unbeaten run in the league to an incredible 28

, extending back to their time in the third-tier of the All-Ireland League. With the conditions making life difficult for both sides, it came as no surprise that this encounter proved to be a low-scoring affair.

‘Nure dominated possession during the early exchanges, but after weathering this early storm, Clontarf had an opportunity to open the scoring 17 minutes into the action.

The 40-metre place-kick from David Joyce was struck with plenty of conviction, but much to the relief of their opponents, the ball rebounded off the woodwork. This was a significant let off for ‘Nure, but they responded with a brace of successful penalties by James Thornton in the 21st and 25th minutes respectively.

The normally-accurate Joyce was also off-target from a subsequent three-point attempt and they were left to rue this miss when O’Neill touched down on 37 minutes.

After racing on to a kick from distance, the outside-centre grounded the ball with relative ease on the right-hand side.

Thornton’s bonus strike was wide of the mark, but ‘Nure nevertheless had reason to be pleased with their 11-0 mid-way buffer.

As expected, ‘Tarf increased their level of intensity upon the resumption and they finally opened their account 54 minutes in, when replacement Alan Hughes negotiated a routine effort from the 22-metre-line.

This score placed ‘Nure on edge heading into the final quarter, but with Connacht loanee John Cooney appearing from the bench, they were holding their own against the rising Clontarf tide.

Indeed, a strong break by the aforementioned Cooney paved the way for Thornton’s third penalty 13 minutes from time, and this offered them enough breathing space ahead of Hughes’ late six-point salvo, which ensured that the defending champions at least emerged with a losing bonus point to their name.

Scorers – Terenure College: S O’Neill try, J Thornton 3 pens. Clontarf: A Hughes 3 pens.

Terenure College: J O’Donoghue; S Donovan, S O’Neill, G Coffey, H Moore; J Thornton, K O’Neill; G Hamilton, R Smyth, O Heffernan; F Walsh, K O’Dwyer; R Duke, J O’Neill, K McCoy. Replacements: I Hanly for Coffey (44), J Cooney for K O’Neill (51), J Dever for Duke (58), K Buckley for Smyth (62), Duke for Walsh (67).

Clontarf: A Robles; J Hawkshaw, E Ryan, M Darcy, M Brown; D Joyce, S Cronin; I Soroka, T Considine, R Burke-Flynn; T Byrne, C O’Keeffe; L Murphy, A Darcy, K Moran. Replacements: A Hughes for M Darcy (9-15 & 46), I Hirst for Soroka (31), B Keelan for Considine, T Ryan for Murphy (both 49), P du Toit for Cronin (58), Soroka for Burke-Flynn (71), Burke-Flynn for Hirst (82).

Referee: D Wilkinson (IRFU).