16 Jan 2016
Last Gasp Tullamore Stun Midleton
Tullamore left it very late before taking all four points against visitors Midleton at home last Saturday 16-13. The game had reached the 5th minute of injury time with the score tied 13-13 when Tullamore outhalf Aaron Deverell knocked over a drop goal which was followed immediately by the final whistle. The result was tough on a fine Midleton side but Tullamore suffered a similar fate last week to Wanderers so they were delighted to be on the right side this week. The sides were evenly matched all through with Tullamore on top in the opening half and the visitors edging the second half. The Tullamore scrum was again outstanding against the highly rated Midleton eight. Both defences were on top so try scoring opportunities were rare. The Cork men opened the scoring in the 6th minute with a 25 metre penalty by their outhalf Stuart Lee. Tullamore equalised in the 13th minute when Karl Dunne knocked over his first kick from 20 metres and took the lead in the 22nd minute with a 25 metre kick from Karl. Things looked very good for the home side 3 minutes later when Ivor Scully intercepted a Midleton pass on the half way line and sprinted all the way to the corner and crashed over after a strong hand off to the last defender. Karl Dunne kicked a simply magnificent conversion from the touchline on his wrong side for a 13-3 lead. Tullamore continued to dominate but were rocked right back in the 31st minute when Daniel Murray scored a try after a wonderful breakaway run by the winger. The conversion made it 13-10 and so it stayed until the break. The scoreline flattered Midleton but it left the tie finely balanced. Tackling on both sides was decisive as the game was largely played between both 22s. Midleton kept pressing and they were rewarded with a good 35 metre penalty from Stuart Lee in the 57th minute to level the game. The last quarter was end to end without success by either side. The nearest Tullamore came to scoring was a lovely run by Jordan Conroy which was barely stopped. Aaron Deverell was wide with a drop goal attempt with 4 minutes to go and as the game drifted into injury time a draw looked inevitable. Tullamore kept pressing and after 6 or 7 drives by the pack they pushed into the Midleton 22. In the 85th minute Richie Hughes flashed the ball to Aaron Deverell just outside the 22 and the out half broke Midleton hearts with a sweet drop goal and a 16 -13 final score. This result keeps Tullamore in 2nd place with 6 games still to play. The Tullamore front row of Ger Molloy, Cathal Feighery and Darragh Lowry were outstanding with strong back up from Leon Martin and Rob Connor. Aaron Deverell was excellent at out half with good contributions from Karl Dunne and Tom Gilligan. There is no game next week with the next fixture a tough away trip to Drogheda to face Boyne on January 30th.
Panel
Karl Dunne, Brian Gilligan, Ivor Scully, Tom Gilligan, Jordan Conroy, Aaron Deverell, Richie Hughes, Darragh Lowry, Cathal Feighery, Ger Molloy, Ivor Deverell, Leon Martin, Rob Connor, Cyril Cornally, Adrian Hanley, Matthew Murphy, Dan Cronin, Philip Jordan, Mark Kennedy, Ross Doyle, Cormac Moloney
