Grosvenor gain the edge over Carrick

AN error-prone Carrick performance saw the first team lose their league encounter 3-0 against Grosvenor at Tom Simms Memorial Park at the weekend.

The wet and windy weather saw both sides struggle to master the conditions, but a Grosvenor penalty in the first half was the difference between the two sides.

Carrick did well in the first half to stop Grosvenor from using the breeze to dominate territory and didn’t allow their opponents any serious try-scoring chances.

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Carrick probably had the better chances with significant line breaks by Johnny Sheriff, Andy McIlroy and Neal Hannah. However, on all three occasions, the support was too late in arriving and the ball was turned over.

Despite turning round at half time only three points down, after playing into the breeze in the first half, and without hooker Glen Baxter for 15 minutes of it, Carrick scarcely created a try -scoring chance in the second half.

Why it took them until the last 10 minutes to start using the wind to try to keep Grosvenor penned in their own 22 is a mystery.

The home side was under pressure in the scrums, until the later stages at least, and the line-out was once again a problem area.

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However, they were clearly the superior attacking force when the ball did go to the backs and a little patience in building attacking situations would almost certainly have paid dividends.

The main problems for Carrick, and to an extent their opponents, were handling errors in the difficult conditions, an inability to hang onto the ball when they had it and a high penalty count.

The second half was, if anything, more full of error than the first and the only sustained periods of attack were by Grosvenor in the middle of the half and Carrick in the dying moments.

Neither side though showed the patience necessary to create a try and the game finished with the visitors’ penalty the only score.

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Team v. Grosvenor: A. McIlroy, A. Moore, J. Anderson, J. Wady, K. Love, J. Sheriff, R. Hamilton, R. Williams, G. Baxter, A. Gibney, A. Kincaid (captain), C. Rea, N. Hannah, R. Marsden, N. Greenwood.

Carrick will need a much-improved performance if they are to progress against Section 1 side Clogher Valley in the quarter-finals of the Junior Cup. Fixtures for Saturday, November 10: 2nd XV vs Omagh II, away; 3rd XV vs City of Derry III, away; 4th XV vs Academy III, home.

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