BUCCANEERS 22 GORT 25
The Buccaneers U-14 Division 2 team played their first home game as they welcomed Gort to a sunny but windy Athlone on Sunday. Gort had the wind in the first half and quickly got the score board ticking as they ran in a try in the 3rd minute which was also converted. Buccaneers settled into the game after that, as their forward unit made some impressive runs to get over the gain line. Some great passing sequences from one side of the pitch to the other ended with Jack Monahan drawing in some defenders before offloading to Joe Hurley who was able to sneak in the corner for Buccs first try. An excellent conversion kick from Corey Kelly against the wind and from near the sideline leveled the score 7-7.
In the 21st minute Gort hit back again with a try and well taken conversion to retake the lead. Just before the end of the half, Gort were awarded a penalty in front of the posts which was successful to give them a 17-7 lead at the break.
In the second half both teams had periods of dominance before Gort ran in their third try. From then on the momentum shifted to Buccs. Ollie Preston and Jack Costello combined well to keep the ball moving quickly and Buccs were eventually rewarded when Kelly found a gap and ran through for Buccs’ second try. Gort were then awarded a second free kick and they made no mistake. Soon after, with about ten minutes to go, another fluid sequence of passing ended with Hurley scoring again in the corner. A great team score. The conversion was well kicked but just fell short.
With a few minutes to go and some powerful drives by our forwards, Buccs were awarded a penalty close to the Gort try line. Buccs made the most of the opportunity and Costello pounced on a gap in the Gort defensive line to score in the corner for Buccs’ 4th try. Just after the restart the final whistle blew. Not to be with the result but, considering there were only 17 players available (and injuries picked up during the game resulted in a number of boys playing out of position), the team can be immensely proud of what was a very encouraging performance played with great heart despite losing 25-22.
