Darragh in a Masterful performance
AIL DIVISION 2B
WANDERERS 13
HIGHFIELD 21
The final quarter introduction of impressive youngster Darragh Masterson proved decisive on the back pitch of the Aviva Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as Highfield moved up to fifth place in the Ulster Bank Division 2B table with a hard-fought victory over bottom side Wanderers, writes DAIRE WALSH.
The Woodleigh Park outfit didn’t have it all their own way, as they trailed the Dublin 4 outfit for much of the contest, but a late flourish from Fergus Burke’s charges was enough to get them over the line in the end.
Though Wanderers’ current league position is well below that of Highfield, they are nevertheless well accustomed to playing on the Lansdowne Road astro turf, which gave them a potential advantage over their Cork rivals heading into this contest.
Certainly, it did take Highfield a while to get used to playing on the artificial surface and, after a good spell of pressure from Wanderers, they fell behind 11 minutes in when Freddie Mehigan grounded the ball just shy of the dead-ball line after charging down a clearance.
This score was easily converted by Michael Boland, which offered Wanderers a good early platform in their quest for a first league victory of the campaign.
Conceding a try at an early stage in the game was a set-back to Highfield, but they started to impose themselves on the game, and good pressure from their pack helped to manufacture a close-range penalty after 19 minutes, which Colin Mahony coolly dispatched for Highfield’s opening score.
As the half wore on, Highfield continued to enjoy a good deal of possession, but the Wanderers defence were holding firm whenever the visitors looked like they were about to make inroads towards the Wanderers posts, and they subsequently added to their tally with a penalty from all of 40-metres by Boland on 27 minutes.
Mahony had an opportunity to cut into the Wanderers lead three minutes after the re-start with a place kick from a tight angle, but he came up short on this occasion, and when Boland kicked over his second penalty four minutes later, things looked ominous for Highfield.
They forced their way back into the reckoning on 54 minutes, however, as a long maul towards the Wanderers line ended with Robert Bogue driving over for his side’s first try. This, along with a straighforward conversion by Mahony, put Highfield back into the frame, as they trailed by just three points heading into the final 25 minutes of play.
By this point, Highfield were beginning to cause Wanderers major problems, and it would take a massive effort on the part of the Ballsbridge men if they were going to hold on for a victory.
The spark that Highfield needed came with the introduction of Masterson, though, and he brought parity to the tie with a penalty of 71 minutes, before giving Highfield the lead for the very first time following a similar effort with three minutes left on the clock.
Highfield were now playing with great confidence, and they rubbed further salt into the wounds of Wanderers by registering a second try through Dave O’Hea in stoppage time.
Scorers For Wanderers: Try: F Mehigan Pens: M Boland (2) Con: M Boland. Highfield: Try: R Bogue, D O’Hea try each Pens: D Masterson (2), C Mahony (1), Con: C Mahony.
WANDERERS: J Reeves; R Kavanagh, M O’Flaherty, P Burke, P Brophy; M Boland, F Mehigan; F Sheehan, J Clifford, C O’Connor, C Walsh, M Kevany, R Geoghegan, A Byrne, P Mallon. Subs: B Diaper for O’Connor (38), M McCoy for Walsh (56), N Flynn for Clifford (64), Clifford for Diaper (77).
HIGHFIELD: K Moloney; R Childs, B O’Hea, C Mahony, M O’Driscoll; D Buckley-Barry, K Foyle; J Carton, D O’Hea, R Bogue, D Kelly, M Dillane, M Power, D Lucey, D Keogh. Subs: J O’Callaghan for Bogue (25), C Tuohy for Power (25), Bogue for Carton (48), Power for Tuohy (48), J Sheehan for B O’Hea (52), D Masterson O’Driscoll (65), Carton for O’Callaghan (68).
Referee: J Erskine (IRFU).