v’s Larne
Carrick win...
The Maxol-sponsored Carrick 1st XV completed the League double over Larne with an
18 points to 10 victory at Woodlawn on Saturday 29 December. The final scoreline
does not really reflect the degree of control exercised by Carrick for much of the
match and especially in the second half. They held Larne to 3 points all in the first
half, when the visitors had the advantage of a stiffish breeze, and took more or
less complete control in the second half. It was just one mistake in an otherwise
solid defensive performance that let Larne in for their only try late in the game.
The Carrick scrum was on top throughout, McCracken and Kincaid took their usual share
of line-out "steals" and the half-backs kicked intelligently out of hand. The pack
was on top in the loose, particularly in the second half, with prop Paul Greenaway
putting in an outstanding performance. He carried as well as any Carrick player,
put in some heavy tackles and won turnover ball on a number of occasions. The back
row of McIlrath, Marsden and Nugent put in a lot of work, with Marsden's pace at
open-side always a threat when Larne tried to move the ball. The mid-field defence
was solid, with Karl Quinn making a welcome return from injury, and the back three
coped well with the high ball in the difficult conditions.
In the first half, much of the action took place between the 22s and this suited
Carrick who were playing into a fairly strong breeze. Although both sides had chances,
the error rate in the wet and breezy conditions was high. The only scores in the
first half came from penalties, with Larne taking the lead on thirteen minutes with
a kick from the Carrick ten- metre line and the home side equalising when Karl Wilkinson
landed an excellent kick into the wind after seventeen minutes. Carrick had two good
attacking opportunities in the second quarter, both from penalties kicked to touch
in the Larne 22 but, after going through a number of phases, the ball was turned
over on both occasions.
After the break, the home side began to use the elements to control territory and
after ten minutes took the lead for the first time. From a 22 drop-out by Larne,
Carrick ran the ball back, with McIlrath and Marsden making ground, and won a penalty
in front of the posts when the visitors dived in at a ruck. Karl Wilkinson duly converted
to put Carrick three points ahead. Carrick were now putting Larne under serious pressure
and deservedly went further ahead after fourteen minutes with the first try of the
game. This came from a Larne mistake on their own ten-metre line. With their scrum
under pressure, a loose pass was gathered by Glen Picken whose initial break enabled
McIlrath and McCracken to make further ground and set up a series of drives in which
Greenaway was prominent; when the ball was moved left, the Larne defence was severely
stretched and Andy Kincaid dived over in the corner. The try was not converted. Five
minutes later, Carrick went further ahead with an excellent interception try by right-winger
Paul Saberton. When Larne tried to move the ball from inside their own half, he took
advantage of a poor pass and did well to get round the cover defence and scor near
the posts. Karl Wilkinson added the points to give Carrick an 18 points to 3 lead.
The home side continued to dominate territory and possession, and to create chances
, but handling errors let them down on a number of occasions. Then, with six minutes
remaining, and with probably their only defensive lapse of the day, Carrick allowed
Larne to run back a poor clearance kick, break the defensive line and set up a series
of attacking rucks which sucked in the Carrick defence and allowed the Larne right
winger to go over in the corner. The try was converted from a very difficult angle
to narrow the gap to 8 points. However, Carrick were sufficiently in control to see
out the rest of the game in the visitors' half of the field.
This was a very solid performance from Carrick in difficult conditions and will give
them confidence for their first round Towns' Cup match against Larne at the Glynn
on 12 January. Before that , however, Carrick have to travel to Drumahoe to face
League leaders Londonderry YM and will need to be at their best to come away with
a result.
The Carrick team against Larne was:
M. Gilmore; P. Saberton, J. Moffett, K. Quinn, D. Crothers; K. Wilkinson, G. Picken;
C. Blair, G. Baxter, P. Greenaway, T. McCracken, A. Kincaid, M. Nugent, R. Marsden,
P. McIlrath(Capt).
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