Match reports for U14 v Mullingar, U15 v Newbridge, U16 v Edenderry & U17 v Dundalk

Youth’s Results

Longford U14 17 Mullingar 29

Longford U15 10 Newbridge 24

Longford U16 12 Edenderry 5

Longford U17 15 Dundalk 7

Match Reports

U14 Midland League Longford U14 17 Mullingar 29

In losing out away to Mullingar in the semi-final of the Midland League, Longford’s Under 14 suffered their first competitive defeat of the season and despite the twelve points difference on the scoreboard it was a much closer affair than the scoreline would indicate but some slack tackling in defence cost Longford dearly. With the benefit of having played before on their new 3G pitch Mullingar had the added advantage of playing with a significant wind in the first half and they used the wind to good effect in the early stages frequently electing to kick deep for territorial position.  Having kept Mullingar at bay with some good defensive work at ruck time it was somewhat disappointing that Longford allowed them edge ahead, not because of any constructive play on their behalf but because three relatively straightforward opportunities to bring the ball carrier to ground were passed, the consequence of which was that Mullingar were able to waltz in for a converted try almost beneath the posts.  In fairness to Longford, however, they fought back and spent most of the rest of the first period camped in the Mullingar half.  With James Doyle, Maks Napieralski and Ciaran McCormack taking the ball hard into contact Mullingar were scrambling to keep their try line intact.  That Longford actually failed to score until the 21^st minute was down, perhaps, to over exuberance at or near the home team’s try line.  It was Longford who were playing all the good rugby, excellent rucking technique through a couple of phases being followed by smart handling across the back line but Daire McManus and Ultan O’Sullivan were held up short on a couple of occasions.  When Longford eventually did eventually make the breakthrough it was as a result of a strike against the head (one of two on the day) by Mark McHugh from a Mullingar put in and Longford were able to capitalise on the disorganised Mullingar defence for Shane Mallon to barge over.

Having played the better rugby, and having got themselves right back into contention despite playing into the teeth of a strong wind, Longford certainly had the upper hand with the second half looming but, once again, it was a couple of poor efforts in the tackle which allowed Mullingar in for an unconverted try just before the half time break.  That late try certainly seemed to be a shot in the arm for Mullingar because they took complete control of the game on the scoreboard with two tries in quick succession in the first couple of minutes of the second half.  While both tries were the product of good running rugby from the big Mullingar backs it has to be said that the opportunities were there for the ball carrier to be brought to ground and, again, both tries have to be put down to slack tackling from Longford.  At 22-5 down with less than 10 minutes of the second half played the signs were ominous but in fairness to Longford they played some of the best rugby of the game for the remaining 15 minutes.  Again, it was the forwards who led the way and most prominent in a man of the match performance was Longford’s standout player on the day, James Doyle but, in fairness, he was ably assisted throughout with some dogged work in attack and defence by, in particular, Dylan Fay, Ciaran McCormack and Ciaran Shannon.  Much of Longford’s rucking was exemplary, the only problem being that James Doyle frequently made so much ground through the Mullingar defence Longford’s support players struggled to keep up with his pace and possession was lost.  On the quarter hour, however, he got the reward his efforts richly deserved, as Mullingar were unable to halt another barnstorming run from a quickly taken tap penalty.  Although still 22 – 10 down but with a head of steam up and with the wind at their backs Longford were very much back in the game and repeatedly took the fight to the home team.  Again, the quality of the rugby was excellent, strong carries from James Doyle, Jack McManus and Ciaran McCormack setting the platform for clearing out work at the breakdown by Conor Cox, Dylan Fay and JJ Jackson but two possible try scoring opportunities were lost, one when Longford lost possession close to the Mullingar try line, the other when Shane Mallon just couldn’t find enough space to squeeze in at the corner flag.  Either one of those opportunities taken would have put a different complexion altogether on the final few minutes but the last nail was hammered into Longford’s coffin as the game entered its closing stages when Mullingar snatched a converted try from a tap penalty.  In injury time Ciaran McCormack snatched a try his efforts on the day richly deserved when he bulldozed his way through a number of would be tackles.

All told, it was an excellent game of rugby and the entire squad gave full value to the many family members who travelled in support.  In fact, Longford were on a par, and indeed dominated, their opponents in a number of areas of play.  One also has to remember that eight or nine of the winning team ply their trade week in and week out as part of the top team in this year’s Premier division.  After a couple of early wobbles Longford’s scrum more than held its own and all eleven who played in the scrum through the fifty minutes can take huge credit from their two strikes against the head.  In addition, Longford more than held their own in the line out and at the breakdown were every inch the measure of their opponents.

Squad: Gary Kenny, Mark McHugh, Jack McManus, Ciaran Shannon, JJ Jackson, Dylan Fay, Conor Cox, Ciaran McCormack, Ben Carthy, Ultan O’Sullivan, Daire McManus, Mossie McDermott, Aaron Farrell, Shane Mallon, James Doyle, Jack Sullivan, Ryan Dempsey, Jamie Byrne, Killian Rawle, Maks Napieralski.

U15 Leinster League Longford U15 10 Newbridge 24

This was a long overdue encounter between these two teams as the initial game was called off due to bad weather. The team left a cold and frosty Longford and arrived at Newbridge RFC for what turned out to be one the toughest games of this season.

Newbridge immediately marked their ground by testing our players. After fifteen minutes of relentless attacks by Newbridge and great effort put in by our Longford players, Newbridge broke our defence and scored their first try. This was followed by a good conversion.

The battle re-started and after a series of passes by Gareth O’Hara, Daniel Reilly and Simon Moorehead, Joshua Manning scored the first try for Longford.

The remaining minutes of the first half saw a game of start and stop with scrums and lineouts that tested both teams on their physicality.

Half time: Newbridge 7 - Longford 5

Three minutes into the second half, Newbridge scored their second try. The efforts of our backs and forwards could not stop this force. Great tackles from Ciaran McGlynn, David Connolly and Kevin Greggs could not hold back a strong Newbridge who scored a third try followed by a conversion. Newbridge pressed hard and immediately responded with their fourth try. Just a minute left to the end of the game, Longford found some strength and inspiration which led Colin Cosins score the second try for Longford.

Game over and a great test for our lads. The coaching team has identified the areas to work on during our next training session on Tuesday at 7:30pm. Nothing we can't fix, we have super talented players who just need some additional guidance.

To all players, please use this experience as a learning exercise and let’s get ready for our next game. Please also continue your spectacular performance as a team and your impeccable attendance to both training sessions and games. 

It is worth mentioning a couple of exceptional performances during this encounter:

Man of the Match: Joshua Manning

Top Tackler: David Connolly

Top Ball Carrier: Gareth O’Hara

Longford: Craig Gorman, James Murphy, Gareth O’Hara, David Connolly, Michael Dunne, Kevin Greggs, William Higgins, Simon Moorehead, Brian O’Farrell, James Reilly, Joshua Manning, Colin Cosins, Liam Donohue, Cian Gray, Brandon Maguire, Daniel Reilly, Brian Farrell, Dario Cigliano, Jack Finnegan, David Reilly

U16 Leinster League Div 1 Longford U15 12 Edenderry 5

On Saturday last Longford U16s travelled to Edenderry to play the latest round of the Leinster League. It was a cold and wet morning but the pitch held up well. Edenderry kicked off to start the first half, and both teams were solid in defense and attack with neither giving an inch for the first ten minuets. The first break came from James Kennedy down the left wing but was just taken down inside the twenty two. Longford kept piling on the pressure and the first try followed. Conor Craig robbed the ball in the tackle and this left Longford on the front foot.  Christy Sullivan went on a thundering run taking three Edenderry players to take him down, and Gabriel Grey did well to retain possession with great rucking. Ryan McHugh picked from the back of the ruck and threw a dummy pass that split open the defence and he showed a good turn of pace to run in for 40 yards. Liam Sheridan then stepped up to take the conversion but just missed.

Edenderry then came right back and put Longford under a lot of pressure but great tackling from props Tom Gilheany and Eoin Reilly meant Longford could hold on without conceding. In the last ten minutes of the first half Longford ran in there second try with the forwards hitting it up for a few phases and then it was spread wide where Michael McCann threw a superb skip pass out to winger Luca Noak-Hosman who still had 2 players to beat. He went outside the opposition winger and then stepped inside the full back to score probably the best try this season. Liam Sheridan once again and stepped up and this time slotted it through the posts from the five metre line to finish the half 12-0 ahead.

The second half was now playing into the wind and retaining the lead was the order of the day. Despite the pressure in the scrums Darragh O’Toole never lost a ball and his commitment never faltered. Nicolas Moore and Daire O’Brien stuck to the task and kept harrying the Edenderry players and keeping them on the back foot. The loss of Gabriel Grey reduced the scrums to 7 and the spare Edenderry No.8 in the centre began to wreak havoc, Longford committing 3 tacklers at times to take him down. Ryan Corcoran relished being back at scrum-half and made a number of nippy breaks as well keeping his back line fed efficiently. The centres of Michael McCann and Luke McIntyre worked well especially in the second half when McCann moved to inside centre. Liam Sheridan’s positioning in the second half was exemplary and he dealt with all the kicks comfortably despite the strong wind. Longford did get over the Edenderry line only for Tom Gilheany to be held up. The Edenderry No.8 eventually broke the deadlock with a searing run down the LH touchline to score in the corner. The conversion was missed but Longford held on for a well deserved victory. 

Team:

Tom Gilheaney, Darragh O’Toole, Eoin Reilly, Gabriel Grey, Christy Sullivan, Daire O’Brien, Conor Craig, Nicolas Moore, Ryan Corcoran, Ryan McHugh, Luke McIntyre, Michael McCann , James Kennedy, Luka Noak-Hosman, Liam Sheridan.

U17 Leinster League Longford U17 15 Dundalk 7

Longford under 17’s welcomed Dundalk to a fairly sodden CPL Park on Saturday for what was a crucial game for the home team. Lose and our interest in the league was over, win and we were still alive. The challenge was well known following two defeats to the same opposition in Dundalk already this season including a humiliating hiding.

The visitors were delayed in arriving but were quick out of the blocks. A scrum between the Longford 10m and 22m didn’t seem to pose much of a threat but a well worked move and some ineffectual tackling allowed the Louth teams full back glide over for the opening try of the game, the easy conversion added two further points.  What was going to be the Longford reaction? Well they dug in and won themselves a penalty which was kicked to the corner. Dundalk infringed again and Longford went close through the lively Jack Magan. Another tap penalty was held up before quick hands released Shane Cox to race over. The difficult conversion was wide.

The game was played largely between the two 22’s with one highlight been a bullocking run by Dylan Smith, bouncing lads off him like a pin ball. It was a sight to behold.

Dundalk used the elements to put pressure on the home team and Longford found themselves pinned in their 22. Ciaran Reilly coped admirably with the bombs and was ably assisted by his back three colleagues, Gerard Flynn and Luke Reilly. Longfords defence stood firm and they eventually got the ball off the pitch to bring the first half to a close.

There was clear intent in the lads eyes at half time and commitment to get to rucks a little quicker. The outstanding Robert Lynch claimed the kick off and set up play near the half way. Longford moved the ball effectively with the ever willing McManus’s, Jamie and Sean proving hard to stop off slow ball while Donal Harkin continued his fine form. Longford established a foothold in enemy territory from one such run and Paddy Duggan spotted that the visitors were short of defenders to the right. He moved the ball quickly to Gerard Flynn who beat his man on the outside before kicking through, another tap with the boot left the ball just over the line and he dived on it to score an excellent try. The underfoot conditions meant that the kickers foot gave way resulting in a missed conversion but Longford tails were up.

Longford were beginning to dominate at this stage with Brian Hanley taking three scrums against the head ably assisted by his front row partners, Dylan Smith, Terence Hegarty and later Ronan McCormack. Niall Gray ran himself into the ground before been substituted for Franklin Okibwe while Gary Burke and Eanna Mimnagh gained further experience in a high intensity contest.

One of the features of the game was the determination to stop the opposition with top quality defending from both sides. Robbie Shaw and Luke Reilly exemplified this with numerous big hits to snuff out any threat. This pressure eventually told on the visitors when a kick through was gathered by Ballymore man Ciaran Reilly who made a lovely break and when he was eventually stopped he popped a lovely ball to the hard running Shane Cox who raced over from 22m out to score his second. The wide conversion left the score at 15 – 7 and importantly, the visitors were outside of bonus point range.

Longford tried hard to get an insurance score but the disciplined Dundalk defence refused to yield and an enjoyable contest finished Longford 15-Dundalk 7.

So after a string of away defeats, the comfort of home has seen the team record two wins on the bounce. This just happened to coincide with the return of captain Paddy Duggan who led from the front all day.

So the league gets put on the back burner as we welcome our old adversaries Tullow to Longford for the preliminary round of the Cup competition this Saturday. They have been plying their trade in the Premier division and will pose a real threat.

Finally thanks to Dundalk for a real sporting contest, to our supporters and all those who entertained our guests and to our Ref Paul Rock.

Squad: Gerard Flynn, Paddy Duggan, Ciaran Reilly, Brian Hanley, Terence Hegarty, Robert Lynch, Niall Gray, Sean McManus, Franklin Okibwe, Gary Burke, Dylan Smith, Eanna Mimnagh, Aidan Sheridan, Luke Reilly, Robert Shaw, Jack Magan, Donal Harkin, Ronan McCormack, Shane Cox, Ivor Nevin & Jamie McManus.