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Mallow RFC Conquer Kingdom Counterparts

Mallow RFC Conquer Kingdom Counterparts

Michael Sweeney23 Jan 2019 - 08:03
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Castleisland RFC vs Mallow RFC 1st XV - Match Report

Mallow RFC travelled west to Castleisland last Sunday in the Munster Junior League Division 2. Mallow's last venture to Kerry was a successful pre-season fixture against Dingle's Chorca Dhuibhne RFC back in August. Kerry of late, however, has not been a happy hunting ground for Mallow, coming up short in recent years against Castleisland more often than not. That said, this current Mallow side is a different beast and were intent on making up for recent defeats to the Westerners. With dry conditions and the pitch solid underfoot, Mallow exploded into this encounter, playing with a high tempo from the off. Owing to suspension and injuries, Mallow were somewhat hamstrung going into this particular game. Nevertheless, they set the game alight and it only took 10 minutes for the visitors to register their first 5-pointer. Full-back Jimmy Glynn crossed for a try in the corner, following excellent hands from Breen, O' Donovan, Sweeney and Flynn. Castleisland fought hard and benefited from needless penalty concessions by Mallow deep in their 22m. They added a penalty of their own on the 20-minute mark and were the width of the crossbar away from adding another. Fortunately for the visitors, the chasing player knocked on the ball with the line at his mercy after it ricocheted off the crossbar. A Mike O' Flynn try on the half hour mark was harshly chalked off as the referee deemed Mallow's outside centre to be in touch before grounding the ball. At the break, Mallow were 5-3 to the good but with plenty of work to do.

A fired up visiting side came out after half time, determined to right the wrongs of the opening forty and make up for a lackadaisical performance. Owen Glynn set the tone right from the referee's whistle catching the restart and bursting through many of the Castleisland forwards to make valuable metres. This was followed by big hits around the middle of the park by Mike Sweeney, Brian Henry and Mike Lenihan to put the Kerry outfit on the back foot. Castleisland repeatedly utilised the boot of their out-half to gain them field position and he kicked them around the park relatively successfully throughout. Mallow's Timmy Fitzgerald, Brian Henry and Mike Lenihan frequently hammered through their opponents defence, finding success running off 9 and 10 in particular. it took 15 second half minutes for Mallow to eventually break the deadlock. Ronan McCarthy picked and ran down the blind-side in search of a half a gap. With nothing opening up in front of him, McCarthy flashed a pass to Jimmy Glynn on the switch and running against the grain. He spotted a chink in the Castleisland armour and slipped passed 2 defenders before dotting down underneath the posts to put Mallow into a relieving 2 score lead. Mallow found themselves somewhat under the cosh for a short period following this try. With Sean Hannon and Fitzgerald winning crucial turnover penalties and Hugh Keena stealing pivotal line-outs, Mallow escaped without their try-line being breached. With the game very much in the balance and still all to play for going into the closing minutes, it took an excellent read by Sean Hannon to intercept a Castleisland pass on Mallow's 22m line. He darted off almost running the length before the full-back closed in on him. He offloaded with finesse to Mike O' Flynn who ran in under the posts to push the score-line out to 19-3 and with that the final whistle sounded.

Mallow were made to work their socks off in this tie but will ultimately be glad to get the 4 points. The north Cork side now stand 7 points clear at the top of the table. The next league game is February 10th at home to Thurles, where a win could could potentially seal their promotion to Division 1. Up next however is a Junior Cup fixture at home to Old Crescent this coming Sunday, January 27th. Your continued support at fixtures is hugely valued by the club and has been a huge factor in the team's success to date.

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