Cill Dara Rue Missed Chances

Cill Dara hosted Dublin club, Coolmine, last Saturday in their first home match of the Leinster League Division 1A season .

Cill Dara hosted Dublin club, Coolmine, last Saturday in their first home match of the Leinster League Division 1A season and the Curragh-based club were left to rue a day of poor luck and missed opportunities. The highs of Cill Dara’s dramatic win in Suttonians last weekend, bolstered by their yearlong unbeaten home run, were cause for pre-match optimism and confidence. However, the late withdrawal of key players Billy O’Shea and Paddy Ryan through injury were to be an omen for an afternoon of frustration.

Take nothing away from Coolmine. Winners also on the opening weekend, they are a strong, balanced and well-drilled side. The Dublin visitors started brightly, kicking a successful penalty after 7 minutes. Cill Dara responded three minutes later when David Ging equalised with his own penalty shot at goal, 3-3. Parity was short lived however as within a minute, another penalty award inside the Cill Dara half was again converted by Coolmine; 3-6 after 12 minutes.

Play moved from one half to the other as Cill Dara tried to gain momentum through their powerful forwards only to be met by a disciplined Coolmine defence who were not shy about turning their stoic resistance into counter attack. On the half hour mark, Coolmine struck their third penalty and led 3-9.

It was frustrating to watch. Small errors by Cill Dara at try scoring moments were proving costly and they paid a heavy price five minutes from the break when Coolmine capitalised and touched down for the game’s only try. The conversion was added, leaving the score 3-16 at half-time. The Kildare club’s unbeaten home run was under serious threat.

Similar to last week, Cill Dara started the second half with increased tempo and purpose. Two minutes in, Ging kicked his second penalty and the hosts were within 10 points, 6-16. In the 56th minute Cill Dara won another kickable penalty after a period of sustained pressure in the Coolmine 22. However, the normally reliable Ging struck his shot wide. A second penalty kick was missed four minutes later by Cill Dara and these wasted opportunities were to ultimately prove costly.

In the dying minutes of the game, consistent Coolmine indiscipline under pressure led to one of their players being sent to the sin-bin before Jamie Kavanagh stepped up to kick the resultant penalty and salvage a losing bonus point for Cill Dara. The final score was 9-16 to Coolmine but it should have been so much closer.

Although Cill Dara’s Beech Park home has now lost its “fortress” tag, a good performance and result away to Enniscorthy next Saturday will see them remain in the top half of this competitive division. As disappointed as Cill Dara will be at their first home defeat in over a year, their league campaign is only beginning.

Cill Dara: 1. Dave Barry, 2. Richie Bond, 3. Conor McCormack, 4. Darragh Kennedy, 5. Chris Moore, 6. Cormac Corcoran, 7. Jack Fulham, 8. Damian Broughall, 9. Jamie Kavanagh, 10. David Ging, 11. Seamus Conway, 12. Conor Malone, 13. Morea Pease, 14. Paudie Wall, 15. Greg Burns.