Kildare Rugby: Athy complete comeback against the odds to beat Cill Dara in derby clash

Leinster League Division 1B

Cill Dara 13

Athy 15

Athy completed an incredible comeback win to upset local rivals Cill Dara on the coldest of Saturday nights in Kildare. The win hands Cill Dara their first loss of their league campaign and means Athy are the winners of the Ger Molloy Memorial Cup, in honour of a local rugby stalwart.

The game started as the first half would continue, with Cill Dara forward pressure. The home side were rarely without the ball in the opening minutes and were looking for that moment of quality to make their dominance show on the score board.

At the 15 minute mark, the sides were as they started, drawn level at 0-0. Athy were holding strong but were desperate to get a foothold in this game. Cill Dara needed something or someone to step up to the mark to get the scoreboard moving.

That man was Colin Moloney, the flanker found himself in possession centrally, in the most condensed areas. Moloney decided to take matters into his own hands as he drove at the Athy defence out wide and completed his run with a superb dummy to beat the last man and get over the line to score.

The resulting conversion was missed by Bryn Moore. The kick would have been a difficult one in calm conditions, let alone the blustery ones in Silken Thomas Park that nearly sent the ball back out to Moore following his effort. 5-0 as the clock hit 20 minutes. Cill Dara had got their breakthrough and they had worked hard for it.

Just three minutes later it was time for what felt like Athy’s first attack and with it came the awarding of a penalty for a ruck infringement and a first chance for Athy out-half Craig Miller to get some points for his side. Miller made no mistake, Athy had shown their first signs of life and dented the lead Cill Dara had worked so hard to obtain.

Athy were reduced to 14 temporarily as hooker Eoghan Farrell was sin-binned for a high-tackle offence.

Cill Dara would punish through their numerical superiority as they stretched Athy across the pitch and wide to winger Ryan Bannon who stepped inside the last man, to score his team’s second try of the game.

The resulting conversion was once again tough for Moore and was again missed as the last major action of the first half saw Athy enter the break winning by 10-3.

The comeback on the score-board may not look like much for anyone who didn’t attend this game. But the home side, playing against an aggressive wind, were the dominant team without question and it was hard to see a way back for Athy.

The trailing side came out for the second half with energy, enthusiasm and more than likely a strong message ringing in their ears.

Athy applied pressure and similar to Cill Dara in the first half conceded three points against the run of things as Bryn Moore converted a penalty down the other end. 13-3 after 53 minutes.

Athy got their first try as they mounted relentless pressure on the Cill Dara defence. It would be out-half Craig Miller who found that sharp change of direction to burst through the bodies over the line straight and right between the posts. Miller converted his own try to make it 13-10 in 58 minutes.

Athy remained on top in this game in a fashion that anyone who watched the opening half could scarcely believe.

Just 5 minutes later, Athy would find a route to over the try line once more as they worked the ball wide to inside centre Tony Martin who put Athy in the lead for the first time. Miller missed the difficult conversion from the touchline as he battled the weather as much as the posts.

Athy were on top for the remainder of this game and closed out proceedings for a strong comeback and brilliant upset win.

Scorers

Athy, Craig Miller (Try, Conversion, Penalty), Tony Martin (Try).

Cill Dara, Colin Moloney (Try), Ryan Bannon (Try), Bryn Moore (Penalty).

Cill Dara are home Sunday to Wicklow 3pm kick off.

Teams

ATHY: Killian Horgan, Tomas Foley, Ciaran Fennessy, Tony Martin, Billy Doyle, Craig Miller, Joshua Coyle; Aaron Rowan, Eoghan Farrell, Graham O’Shaughnessy, Kevin Downey, Sean Donohoe, Conor Martin, William Hendy, Tadhg Foley.

CILL DARA: Philip Kenny, Ryan Bannon, Adam Meehan, Senan Brannock, Cian Buckley, William Doran, Bryn Moore; Aaron Kane, Gordon Michael Shannon, Dj Brannock, Joseph Marks, Billy Scully, Colin Moloney, Ross Dooley, Adam Doyle.

Referee: Niall Behan