Kildare: Cill Dara RFC get league off to a winning start against Longford

Cill Dara RFC 18

Longford RFC 12

Cill Dara welcomed Longford RFC to Silken Thomas Park on Sunday. Conditions were dry and the home pitch as always was in immaculate condition. To the surprise of no Cill Dara supporter there was a strong wind towards the club house. There was concern in the build up that Cill Dara would be undercooked coming into this game and the loss of powerhouse Billy Scully over the weekend to a back injury heightened those concerns.

Kicking off into the breeze Cill Dara soon found themselves under pressure. Longford dominated the opening quarter and will feel that they should have more reward than a solitary try from Ryan McHugh. They had one poor kick at goal but really backed their maul and consistently went to the line with penalties. Cill Dara though were well organised and were able to contain Longford's threat.

Cill Dara's classy back line grew into the game and started to look a threat with ball in end. Cill Dara started to string some nice phases together and 18 year debutant Senan Brannock finished superbly to left of the posts. With a strong wind to come, Cill Dara were well positioned leading 7-5 at half-time.

Cill Dara lost out-half Sam Gray to a suspected broken arm, Sam has controlled the game well butyoung William Doran stepped in and marshalled his troops well. 14 minutes into the second half Gordon Shannon intercepted a Longford attack, Shannon found support and after some scintillating passages of rugby Cian Buckley scored in the corner, for a brilliant team score.

Cill Dara played controlled rugby over the next 20 mins and added two further penalties through Captain Tadgh Murtagh, Tadgh returning after 4 seasons with UCD. Cill Dara were leading 18-5 entering injury time when after an erratic kick veteran Kieran O'Gorman got in for a try. Cill Dara though closed out the game without much drama. Outstanding for Cill Dara were Senan Brannock, Cian Buckley and Phil Kenny in the backline; while up front Joe Marks, Ross Dooley and player of the

match Colin Moloney led the way securing the league win on the opening day of the campaign.