Three try blitz earns City of Derry a win over Enniskillen

City of Derry 29

Enniskillen 17

Three tries in eight second half minutes saw City of Derry race away from Enniskillen to record a morale-boosting victory at Judges Road.

Richard McCarter’s team are back in action on Tuesday night when they face Grosvenor at home, and they go into that game on the back of a thrilling way to win any game, a late blitz of tries from David Graham, Colm Cregan and David Lapsley that brought not just the win, but a bonus point as well.

It was a final scoreline that McCarter never seen coming with the preceding 60 minutes before the tries tense, lacklustre and unbelievably frustrating with poor passing and bad decision making holding Derry back from getting ay sort of grip on the game.

“It was a really frustrating game from an attacking point of view,” McCarter agreed. “Defensively we were pretty good for the majority, but we just couldn’t string phases together. When we did do that we opened them up quite easily. That’s where the frustration lies because we know what we’re capable of. If you had told me after 60 minutes that we would score 29 points and get a bonus point, I don’t think I would have believed you.”

A game that was drifting by aimlessly was sparked into life by Derry’s talisman Davy Graham, who ran 60 yards with the ball, and while that movement didn’t end in a score, it roused the spectators, the players and the whole game in itself. It was the proverbial kick up the arse that everyone needed.

“The game needed something because it was a but stale from both sides, and although we didn’t score from it, Davy’s break gave us a bit of impetus and a bit of confidence to attack them,” McCarter reflected.

“We were so jittery on the ball, and that’s what the problem was last week when we gave up possession far too easily at times. We knew if we could put a few phases together we would have a good opportunity, and thankfully it was better late than never.”

Hangover

With Ireland getting off to a two-try start against Wales in their Six Nations game, the spectators were slow to drag themselves away from the bar at Judges Road, while the players on the pitch were equally as sluggish, with Derry assisting Enniskillen to the first try of the game after just 15 minutes.

From a Derry line-out, the home side lost the ball and Enniskillen immediately pressed their advantage, pushing the green and blacks back into their own ’22 before Oisin Timoney forced the ball over the line. Eddie Keys converted, and the visitors had a 7-0 lead.

To be fair to Derry, they responded well and they were level within five minutes with Stephen Corr picking out David Lapsley, who raced away, making sure to finish right under the posts to give Alex McDonnell an easy conversion to tie the game.

With little between the sides, all that was needed for Derry to lead going into half time was a penalty from captain McDonnell after the half hour, with McCarter having plenty to say to his players at the break.

Half time 10-7

While Derry had McDonnell, Enniskillen had Keys, and it was he who kicked the visitors level, just a few minutes into the second half.

At 10-10, the game was there for the taking, but for so long it didn’t look as if Derry had it in them to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. Misplaced passes, missed chances and questionable decision making left McCarter annoyed to say the least on the sidelines.

The whole game changed with Graham’s burst forward, powering down the pitch and leaving countless players in his wake before he was finally stopped. It should have led to a try for Colm Cregan but at the very last second he went for the pass rather than the throat and the chance slipped trough Derry hands.

Still, Graham’s actions was the boost that that the game needed and Derry then scored the first of three tries in eight minutes to leave their opponents in a daze. Moving the ball swiftly from the left side of the pitch to the right, Lapsley offloaded to Graham who turned on the afterburners and ran through to make it 15-10 Derry.

Graham then turned provider as he set up Colm Cregan and this time there was no hesitation as he made it 22-10 with just four minutes remaining. It was a nice moment for Cregan and McCarter, with the coach giving him some encouraging words just moments before.

“He picked a really good line that time and tried to offload it when he probably shouldn’t have, and gave away sloppy possession, but he made up for that getting the try afterwards,” he explained. “That’s what we want to see, boys keeping their confidence levels high and having a go.”

There were tired legs all over the pitch at this stage, but there was still some in the tank for Lapsley, who collected a pass from Graham and raced away to set up an easy conversion, securing the win and a bonus point in the process.

There was still time for an Enniskillen consolation, which came from Gavin Warington, but it was Derry’s day, with that late blitz showing the true attacking capabilities of the players in green and black.

With 29 points and five points secured, all focus goes to Grosvenor at Judges Road on Tuesday night.

“We need to keep going,” McCarter continued. “It’s a quick turnaround and the boys will be sore after that because it was a very physical game, but we have got to keep this momentum going especially with the home game. Grosvenor are struggling, but they will be a tough opposition so we have got to keep our heads right and look after ourselves between ow and then.”

Teams

CITY OF DERRY: F Canning, C Cregan, A Marley, G Doherty, A Deery, T Thorton, D Gill, S Corr, J Millar, A McDonnell, CJ Cregan, D Lapsley, D Graham, I Bratton, K Thorton.

ENNISKILLEN: G Warrington, N Keenan, G Thorton, N Rutledge, O Timoney, J Carleton, M Rooney, J Rutledge, M. Dane, G Foster, J Hlyton, E Keys, S Balfour, D Hill, J Ferguson.