Defensive lapses prove costly for Carrick in Junior Cup opener

A couple of late defensive lapses by Carrick, which allowed the visitors to score two converted tries, gave the scoreboard a somewhat lopsided look at the end and did not reflect the effort which the hosts had put in for much of the game.

In terms of possession and territory, Carrick had the better of the first half but their inability to convert pressure into tries meant that the visitors led 8-6 at the break. The visitors definitely had the better of the second half with their backs causing problems for the home side's defence, while Carrick didn't really threaten the City of Derry line until the closing minutes. This despite the fact that Carrick had the dominant scrum and a smoothly functioning line-out with Lewis Patterson both acting as banker on the home side’s throw and disrupting the visitors' line-out on a number of occasions.

Both Carrick half-backs - Simon White and Dan Curley - kicked well and intelligently, particularly in the first half. Fionn McCormack was solid at full-back until he had to leave the field with an arm injury half way through the second half and had converted both of Carrick's penalty shots at goal in the first half.

Up front, there was the usual full-blooded effort from No.8 Ryan McGonigle with Alan Whitley and Captain Gareth McKeown also prominent as carriers and in defence.

Carrick started strongly and took the lead in the fourth minute with a Fionn McCormack penalty but then conceded a penalty straight from the re-start which allowed the visitors to level the scores. Despite territorial dominance for most of the first quarter, Carrick simply could not break down the City of Derry defence, the closest they came to a try being when Lewis Patterson was held up over the line.

It was the visitors who scored the first try of the game on the half hour mark when one of their centres went over after they had gone through a series of phases inside the Carrick 22. The try was not converted and Carrick reduced the deficit with another Fionn McCormack penalty a couple of minutes later.

Strong Run

Despite having a number of chances in the closing minutes of the half, including an interception by Fionn McCormack followed by a strong run by Adam White, Carrick did not put the visitors' line under pressure and could have gone into half-time further behind than 8-6 had it not been for a try-saving tackle on the City of Derry right winger by Alan Whitley.

The home side began the second half with a couple of line-out drives which came to nothing in the end and this was followed by a long period of pressure by the visitors inside the Carrick 22. After four penalty awards in succession - at which they opted for the scrum - City of Derry finally got over the Carrick line in the 60th minute when their left winger went over in the corner following a couple of missed tackles. This try was converted to give the visitors a 15-6 lead.

They were now dominating the game territorially and scored converted tries in the 68th and 74th minutes to lead 29-6. With only minutes remaining, Carrick finally got a score of their own when Chris Rodgers drove over from a line-out five metres out. The try was not converted and then Carrick failed to deal with the re-start and City of Derry gathered and scored near the posts. The conversion made the final score 36-11 in the visitors' favour.

Carrick now have to re-group for their second pool game away to Ballynahinch II on Saturday, March 11. Their final pool game is at home against Ballymena II on March 25.

The Carrick team against City of Derry was: F. McCormack (S. Rodgers); N. Gannon, D. Carse, A. White, D. Moore; D. Curley, S. White; G. McKeown (capt), A. Whitley, P. Greenaway (J. Bell), C. Rodgers, J. Turner, J. Mooney, L. Patterson, R. McGonigle.