23 NOV CIYMS V CARRICKFERGUS, SATURDAY 19TH NOVEMBER 2022
One week after snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, CI had the opportunity to set the record straight in the rerun of the CI v Carrick fixture. This time at Belmont. It was a dry afternoon with a steady breeze running down the pitch towards the bowling green.
CI were missing quite a few players from the previous week, but this gave opportunities for others to stake claim on a jersey. Hodgeson and Newell came in at 15 and 14 respectively, and Gilliland moved from the backrow to outside centre. Raine moved from 15 to 10. In the pack, McKenna and Houston came into the 2nd row, with Glendinning and Todd coming into the backrow. CI played with the elements in the first half.
From the off CI attacked. Hodgey burst through and we almost scored.. chance missed. However, we stayed in the red zone and from the ensuing lineout we mauled over close to the touchline. Finlay touched it down and Lawton converted from out wide.
5 mins.. 7 : 0
Aided by a steady breeze, CI made progress into the Carrick half and the away side conceded a penalty. Lawton slotted it over.
10 mins.. 10 : 0
The CI lineout was performing very well and we began stealing Carrick ball. This became a feature of the match and a problem for Carrick.
In a rare excursion into the CI half the away side pressed close to the CI line and won a penalty. They duly converted.
16 mins.. 10 : 3
CI moved forward from the k/o and pressed for another try. After a number of phases the ball moved wide on the right and Newell crashed over in the corner. The conversion just missed.
26 mins.. 15 : 3
Despite pressing further, there were no more scores and the half ended .. The score was almost the same as the previous week, and again, we were facing the elements.
Half time.. 15 : 3
With the wind at their back Carrick enjoyed a lot more territory. However, first phase proved a real problem for the visitors.
Another lineout steal in the CI half, clever running and several phases of play brought the home team close to the Carrick line. The maul that followed led to Achey crashing over in the corner. A difficult conversion was missed.
55 mins.. 20 : 3
To compound Carrick’s problems their hooker was yellow carded for a dangerous tackle, and he spent 10 mins in the bin. However, they continued to press the CI line. A fumble from Carrick and we had a chance to clear the danger, but they regained possession and scored in the corner.. bowling club side. Conversion missed.
60 mins.. 20 : 8
Nerves jangled. Could it happen again? The simple answer was “no”, not at Belmont. CI took control for the rest of the match. Another yellow card, another stolen lineout, and Fullerton, the CI 9, saw a gap in their defence around the ruck. He ran in from the 10m line and touched down close to the posts.. Lawton didn’t miss.
60 mins.. 27 : 8
Bonus point and game over.
Despite the breeze CI moved forward again and came close to scoring again. A penalty followed another discretion and Lawton added the 3 points.
65 mins.. 30: 8
We had a further chance from a 5m lineout close to the end of the match, but it didn’t happen and the game petered out.
Final score: CIYMS 30… Carrick 8
It was difficult to pick the MOM (Burnsy won the award) because so many stood up. However, Hodgey, Newell, McKenna, Houston all deserve a special mention, so too Glendinning, in perhaps his last game for a while. Can’t end without mentioning Pete who stood in at 10 and was excellent.. indeed all 17 players were excellent.
We finished the evening in 5th place, and totally erased the hurt of the previous week. CV in a fortnight.