Ashbourne earn a point

Ashbourne staged a strong recovery in the last 20 minutes to earn a draw with Clane in this Leinster League Div 2 encounter at Ashbourne on Sunday. Following two straight defeats this was a move in the right direction for Ashbourne but on the evidence of this display they need a lot more work to get back in the winning zone. With the team missing seven of the first team squad, Ashbourne kicked off hoping to get back on the winning trail. Conditions were surprisingly dry and the pitch was in excellent condition. The wind though was dominant blowing down the pitch. Sean Casey was presented with his first start and within five minutes the flying winger made his mark. From the first scrum inside the Clane '22' Gavin Kennedy broke left and Peter Swanipoel put Casey through to finish well in the left corner. The conversion from the touchline was missed by Kennedy but it was a difficult kick. Clane had a big pack and from early on Ashbourne struggled at times in the forward division. Although the front row of Alan Wall, Christy Jordan and John Gavin were a match for Clane, the weight difference at times told against the home side. And it was as a result of this mismatch that Clane struck back five minutes later. From a scrum on the Ashbourne five-metre line, Clane disrupted the ball coming back and from a messy pass to Casey, the ball was spilled and Clane were able to get through for a touchdown which was not converted. Try as hard as they did, Ashbourne were unable to make much progress for the rest of the half although Swanipoel was dominant in both attack and defence for Ashbourne and Saulea Laurentiu showed well along with Dermot Colreavy. Ashbourne lost Kennedy to the sinbin just before half-time when the sides went in at 5-5 apiece. A confident Clane side took to the field in the second half. With a strong wind at their back and against 14 men, they hoped to strike early. Ashbourne rode the initial storm well and showed great ambition in running the ball against the wind with Allan Gallagher and Eric Greene prominent. Despite their efforts Ashbourne fell behind 10 minutes into the second-half when a penalty try was awarded to Clane, which was hotly disputed. It came on a first penalty offence but the score stood. Eight minutes later Clane's lead was stretched to 10 points with a well-taken penalty. Instead of wilting the home side reacted in a positive manner. Jason Emery took charge of events and Kennedy started paying back for his visit to the bin. The whole side upped their game and they were rewarded with a penalty which Kennedy converted into a howling gale. The weather had closed in and it became very dark however, a moment of class brightened up the afternoon. Ashbourne upped the tempo and were pressing hard. Kennedy showed great skill in taking on the Clane defence and breaking a few tackles to score a brilliant try, which he also converted. This tied the game. For the next 10 minutes both teams went all out in search of victory and it was Ashbourne who came closest, but it was not to be. The two points gained keeps Ashbourne in third place. They're still well placed although they have a difficult assignment away to Athy next Sunday. Ashbourne - D Colreavy, S Casey, E Greene, A Gallagher, S Laurentiu, P Swanipoel, G Kennedy; A Wall, J Gavin, C Jordan, C Roche, E Gallagher, I Power, E McGuinness, J Emery. Athboy 17 Dundalk 0 Athboy got their Magee Cup campaign up and running again with an impressive victory over Dundalk on Sunday. All the scores came inside the opening 20 minutes with captain Simon Barrett going over for two tries which were converted by Enda Reilly. They also slotted over a penalty however, they couldn't add to their account as conditions deteriorated and the contest became a battle between two sets of forwards. Athboy's opening score was a penalty by Reilly from in front of the posts. From the re-start Athboy found touch inside the Dundalk '22' and from the resulting line-out Seamus Potterton stole the ball. It was spread out to Alan Fox who beat one defender then committed another before he off-loaded to his first centre Barrett and he beat two players and touched down under the posts for the opening try. Athboy's and Barret's second try of the game was a well-worked team try with forwards and backs combining well to release right wing Greg Lutz who broke one tackle and off-loaded to his supporting player Barrett who run in under the post. Reilly converted to leave the score at 17-0. Athboy look to continue their good form in the league when they take on Balbriggan in Athboy on Sunday, 6th December.Best for Athboy was man of the match Fox while Barrett and Potterton also impressed. Athboy - C Dempsey, G Fitzgerald, JP Matthews, E Reilly, S Lee, S Potterton, B Quirke; M Casey, D Hakaria, A Fox, M Fagan, S Barrett, S Dempsey, G Lutz, B McLoughlin.