Malone take the cup win against Grosvenor

The ‘Baltic’ conditions from the East did not deter a sizeable crowd turning up at Orangefield for this much anticipated Cup clash between Malone seconds and Grosvenor 1stxv in the McCrea Cup. The two teams had already met twice this season in the Junior Cup and Conference league with Malone winners by narrow margins on each occasion. Injuries and unavailability are always issues coaches and management have to deal with, with Malone missing Neil Alcorn and Mark O’Connor and Grosvenor without the services of scrum half Allen McCluggage and prop Pearce Jamison due to injury.
From the outset it was case of which team could adapt to the conditions with the strong wind blowing down the slope. Malone were confronted with these wintry elements in the first half. How would Grosvenor take advantage and build a lead that would force Malone to chase the game in the second half. Grosvenor kicked off and were quickly on the offensive pressing deep into the Malone twenty two. Their strong carrying forwards Willie Rea, Paddy Hamill and Stuart Smyth along with Captain Andrew Kelly were very much to the fore during the first quarter. . For the Malone team it was all about defending their line with the back row of Jonny Ogilby, Stuart Doddington and Max Porter proving equally resilient in the contact zone. Kicking was not an option for the Malone team with the Malone front five showing they were very much up to the task led by Lee Barlow.
The first points were kicked by Grosvenor scrum half Alan Skelton after 12 minutes to give his team an 3 – 0 lead. From the kick off Malone pressured the Grosvenor defence again through their strong carrying forwards. Back came Grosvenor with their forwards laying siege to the Malone line. Eventually their out half Peter Davison spotted a gap to run through and touch down with Skelton adding the points to increase their lead to 10 – 0 after 25 minutes. One area where the Malone team were dominant was in the set scrum with the front row of Captain Ricky Greenwood, Connor Kelly and Phil Eadie having the upper hand on their opposite numbers. Again from the kick off Malone did retain possession for several minutes in the Grosvenor twenty two as the team looked to deny Grosvenor any further points. Back came Grosvenor as they exerted further pressure on the opposition line with the Malone defence standing strong. Just on the half time whistle referee Jonathan Peak awarded Grosvenor a penalty. Much to the relief of the Malone supporters Skelton pushed his kick wide to leave the halftime score 10 – 0 in favour of Grosvenor. Malone had shown their discipline winning the penalty count 5 – 2 in the first half.

With the wind advantage and the slope in their favour the strong Malone pack were expected to claw back the Grosvenor lead. Both teams had made changes due to injury with Daryl Maxwell replacing Jonny Ogilby on the Malone side with former Queens 1st xv Captain Stuart McIIwaine replacing Grosvenor centre Mitchell McComb. We had to wait eight minutes before Malone secured their first points. From a lineout second row Tiarnan Dillon secured clean ball for the forwards to drive towards the Grosvenor line with replacement Daryl Maxwell gaining the touch down with Bruce Duff adding the points to narrow the Grosvenor lead to 10 – 7. Sadly from the kick off Malone infringed and allowed Grosvenor to kick another penalty through Skelton to increase their lead to 13 – 7 after 50 minutes. As the pressure told on the Grosvenor team at the breakdown it was a case of the Malone team kicking to the corner with Tiarnan Dillon and Stuart Doddington dominating the line out. As expected the catch and drive was too powerful for the Grosvenor defence with Doddington touching down for his teams second try. Duff was unable to add the conversion with the Grosvenor lead reduced to one point. For the next 15 mins the Grosvenor team defended their line and again resorted to the strong carrying through their forwards to take play into the Malone half. Eventually with 10 minutes left the Malone team made the all important break through. Prop Gary Crawford entered the heat of battle and made a big impact at the scrum. He was also on hand to make a decisive carry towards the Grosvenor line. Patience was required from the Malone team as they laid siege to the Grosvenor line. Eventually the pressure told as number 8 Max Porter got over the line for the third try with Duff adding the conversion to give the Malone team the lead for the first time in the game after 70 minutes. Now it was the case of the Malone team closing out the game with the defence remaining strong as they denied this battling Grosvenor team a win. It was joy for the Malone team and disappointment for the Grosvenor side as the referee Jonathan Peak signalled the end to a most enjoyable match played in very difficult conditions. The 9 – 3 penalty count in favour of Malone in the second half reflected their strength at the set piece and in the contact area at the breakdown.

Malone seconds as current holders will return to the Kingspan stadium on Monday the 2nd April where their opponents will be Cooke in a repeat of last seasons final. Well done to the management team of Davy Heron, Sam McBurney and Harry McMurtry for the work they have done this season under the watchful eye of Malone Head coach Paddy Armstrong to hopefully make it another successful season for the second xv in the clubs 125 th Anniversary season. Captain Ricky Greenwood has been ever present during the season providing the all important leadership for the team.

Malone second xv 1: Ricky Greenwood (Captain), 2. Connor Kelly, 3. Philip Eadie, 4. Lee Barlow, 5. Tiarnan Dillon, 6. Jonny Ogilby, 7. Stuart Doddington, 8. Max Porter, 9. Callum Jeffrey, 10. Bruce Duff, 11. Jack McMurty, 12. Davy Irvine, 13. Ryan Spence, 14. Jack knox, 15. Gareth Millar, 16. Gary Crawford, 17. Tom Dullage, 18. Aaron McKecknie, 19. Daryl Maxwell, 20. Jamie Ashenhurst.

Grosvenor 1st xv: Mark Rainey, 2. Stuart Smyth, 3. Willie Rea, 4. Peter Dawson, 5. Paddy Hamill, 6. Sam Purdon, 7. Jeff Mealiff, 8. Andrew Kelly (Captain), 9. Adam Skelton, 10. Peter Davison, 11. David Egner, 12. Mitchell McComb, 13. Matt Johnston, 14. James Greer, 15. Mark Johnston, 16. Mark Foster, 17. James Cartilage, 18. Philip Stoops, 19. Stuart McIIwaine, 20. Ben Coard.

It has been a busy period for the second xv with three games in 10 days. Now they can concentrate on preparing for their McCrea Cup Final on Easter Monday 2nd April at the Kingspan Stadium before their next second xv league match at home to City of Armagh second xv on 7th April. Well done to the team.