Derry lose opening round robin encounter

Seapoint17

CITY of Derry squandered a glorious opportunity to put themselves in pole position for automatic promotion back to All Ireland League Division 3 with a home defeat to Seapoint on Saturday.

The biggest crowd of the season at Judges Road saw Derry with 60 percent possession fail to turn opportunities into points.

The home side had to defend against a strong breeze in the first half and turned around 6-6 at half time but the efforts of the first half and the burden of games over the last two months took their toll the longer the game went on.

Bevan Lynch’s side had four long term injuries prior to their bruising victorious encounter against arch Ulster rivals Armagh and they suffered another five injuries in that game, and were only able to get two of those injured players on the pitch on Saturday.

Unfortunately full back Peter Henderson lasted only to half-time and captain Bob McKillop, who was not named in the match programme, survived the game with medical help.

The Judges Road outfit picked the worst possible time to suffer their first home defeat in two years but there can be no arguing over the final result as Seapoint delivered what could be a telling blow to City’s promotion hopes.

Having played their twelfth game in 50 days, this was always going to be a tough ask for the home side against a well rested opponent and although they matched them as well as they could throughout, they faded in the final period of the game, and Seapoint took full advantage, with Michael Noone scoring a late try to seal the victory.

Derry knew they were in for a tough game very early as they spent the opening stages defending as Seapoint tried to impress their game on the home side.

Brian Keegan duly gave the visitors the lead with an eleventh minute penalty but Derry hit right back, when, in a rare attacking foray, Mark O’Connor levelled with a penalty of his own.

Derry were still second best as the first half reached its midway point; they suddenly clicked into gear when O’Connor led them on a charge forward, and Sam McCauley looked certain to score only to opt for a pass at the last second which flew straight into the arms of a Seapoint player. This was Derry’s best spell by some distance and they took the lead for the only time in the game when O’Connor was on target for a second time.

But any hopes of taking that lead into half time were quickly ended as the visitors responded in style, Keegan again hitting the target.

The home side started on the front foot in the second period and would have had a few scores had their passing not let them down.

Peter Henderson looked like he was in for a try early but he attempted to find O’Connor, in space to his left, only to misjudge the pass and the chance was gone.

That proved crucial as Keegan again proved deadly with his kicking to swing the game back in Seapoint’s favour at 9-6, but Derry responded to that challenge by piling the pressure on Seapoint and they got their reward when O’Connor hit his third penalty of the game.

With time running out, it was Seapoint in the ascendancy and following a prolonged period of pressure, Chris O’Brian hooked over a drop goal to leave Derry with a mountain to climb and with just four minutes to do it. To their credit, Derry pushed on, but in the dying seconds Richard McCarter lost possession and Noone raced downfield to score the try which ended this game.

City of Derry: Peter Henderson, Josh Lewis, Ryan Campbell, Gary Boyle, Simon Logue, Richard McCarter, Andrew Semple, Chris Shields, Sam McAuley, Sam Duffy, David Houston, Bob McKillop, Karl Gemmill, Stephen Simms, Stephen Corr. Replacements: Stephen Duffy & Jason Mitchell for Shields & McKillop (66);

Seapoint: Ken Casey, Conor Paynel, Gary Foley, Niall Kearns, Stephen Boucher, Brian Keegan, Stephen Roberts, Simon Hughes, Stephen Flood, Mark Barrett, Des Doyle, Michael Noone, Jonathan Walsh. Replacements: Chris O’Brian for Roberts (65);

Referee: Mr. Barrie O’Connell.