Tuesday February 21 2012

U19s LIMBER UP WITH DERBY WIN 

ARKLOW 5 GOREY 41
 

Neighbours and rivals Gorey and Arklow both face Leinster Under-19 finals in a fortnight.

So a Darcy Cup tie was to be the perfect warm-up for both teams. In a competitive encounter, Gorey pulled away in the fourth quarter with four unanswered tries to clinch a second round tie away to Balbriggan in three weeks' time.

Gorey yet again played with the elements in the first-half, although the strong wind was mostly crossfield. A couple of Arklow Garryowens in the first few minutes made little ground and it was clear that Arklow would have to keep ball in hand.

Gorey were quick to launch No. 8 Jordan Aherne for one of his many forays through the centre. Quick transfer to wing-forward Danny Hughes maintained momentum and Gorey had set out their stall.

A Niall O'brien penalty was their first reward for territorial dominance. They quickly re-established territory after Clement Power's slick handling put Seán Carty up the right wing. Stopped short, Gorey were patient and accurate in their ruck re-cycling and Frank Bellanova wasn't going to be stopped from close in. Niall O'brien added the convert.

The Gorey pack were now moving the point of attack nicely, with Arklow struggling to compete. They were also exploiting the blindside. Shortly before half-time, No. 7 Danny Hughes called for delivery on the blind left side. Gliding between three defenders, he still had to race from the halfway line to touch down, leaving Gorey 15-0 ahead at half-time.

Gorey now had to face the stiffening wind, aware that infringements meant territorial concession. An Arklow break up the right was defended but Gorey were judged to have handled in the ensuing ruck.

Now it was Arklow who applied the pressure and they barged over from close-in to leave the score 15-5 with 20 minutes to go. Gorey upped the intensity at this stage. They retained the ball through multiple phases stretching the Arklow pack.

Out-half Niall O'brien, having worked through his pack in the first-half, now unleashed his midfield through the wider channels, allowing the pacy back three of Stephen Hughes, Seán Carty and Andrew Walsh to cause problems out wide. At the end of one such multi-phase attack, Stephen Gardiner found no-one at home at ruck-time and crashed over for a smashing try, converted by Conor Hatton.

The extra phases started to count as Gorey racked up the intensity in the final quarter. Good handling and some nice interplay between backs and forwards saw Niall O'brien sidle outside the right-hand cover to score in the right corner.

As Arklow's challenge wilted under the pressure, Gorey continued to penetrate ruthlessly through both patient forward phase-building and slick handling among the back line. Stephen Gardiner rounded off a storming second-half with a second try, and Jordan Aherne, Gorey's best gainline carrier, also touched down.

Gorey: Stephen Hughes, Seán Carty, Clement Power, Seán Byrne, Andrew Walsh, Niall O'brien, Robert Harrington, Conor Cousins, Dominic Surace, Richard Deering, Dean Redmond, Frank Bellanova, Eddie Earle, Danny Hughes, Jordan Aherne (capt.). Subs. - James Sinnott, Stephen Gardiner, Conor Hatton.