Reports from Senior Level 2006/07

Barnhall 10 V DLSP 12
At Parsonstown 07 .04.07
Noel Dillion Reports

With perfect weather conditions and a history of keenly contested matches between Barnhall and De La Salle Palmerston the final encounter of the 2007 AIL league was always going to be a great encounter. Neither team were in a position to challenge for the final slot in the knock out stages of the league so a traditional friendly was on the cards with pride of victory the only spur to perform.
From the kick off the game plan for both teams was evident. Neither team had a damaging front five or monstrous pack of forwards so an open game was the likely ploy for both teams. The first few encounters proved this to be the case with loose play from both packs releasing very quick ball which often fell to ground. The speed of handling appeared to be too much for both sets of forwards and this indeed dogged the free flowing nature of the game both teams wanted to play in the dry and fast conditions. There was little between the two teams in the opening minutes with Barnhall playing a normal open style which DLSP closed down quickly. On eight minutes a speculative kick ahead by Outhalf Phil De Barra was picked up by Paul Burke about ten metres out from the Barnhall line. A moment of indecision lead to a rare mistake by Paul and in opting to run the ball he subsequently ran into his own players on the 22 and conceded a penalty. DLSP flashed the ball wide and Karl Gilligan the power full no 15 powered his way past the Barnhall defence and chased up behind the posts to ease the conversion effort. Johnny Power slotted home the simple conversion attempt and the score to leave the home side training 0 – 7
Barnhall appeared un-phased by the setback and went about the task of re-establishing a familiar game pattern. With strong play from Richie McDonagh, John Lark and Riaan Erasmus Barnhall moved the ball to the DLSP 22. Eoin Burke flashed the ball out to Cathal Connolly who broke the line with a grubber kick and he won the sprint to the touch down 12 minutes old and with a simple conversion of his own try Connolly tied the game at seven points each. Barnhall continued to pressure the DLSP line to no avail. At this time it was clear the DLSP back four of Ene Fa'Atau, Kevin Sharkey, Connor Power and the aggressive scrum half Johnny Power were in no mood to let Barnhall dictate the game and the constantly disrupted any flow Barnhall looked to establish. Stephen Kavanagh was also prominent in all of the loose play and Barnhall needed to go up a gear if they were going to overcome this stoup defence and counter attacking play. On 24 minutes the home side did up the pace and this forced a penalty out of the DLSP team and Connolly converted to increase the score to 10 points to 7.
Barnhall continued to up the pace of the game and this saw a terrific move started by Gareth Brown and subsequently releasing Brian O Friel down the left wing. A chip ahead was met with a late tackle and this received no more then a finger wagging from the referee which stoked up the hot house another notch. DLSP lifted the siege and the game rolled on to the Break with a succession of errors on both sides from poor handling and thus the frustrations of both sides began to bubble over. On 40 minutes a flare up which appeared to involve most of the two packs of forwards and some of the back lines was very much a hand bag affair fuelled by the earlier frustrations, late tackles, the temperature of the day and the hard ground. The net effect was a ten minute cooling off for Johnny power on the stroke of half time. At 10 - 7 it was anybodies game and a very competitive encounter was underway and a good spectacle was on offer to the appreciative crowd.
From the restart Barnhall brought McDonagh and Hamish Hodgson ashore putting Colm Dufficy and Brian Murray into the fray. Despite being without the services of the impressive no 9 DLSP started the much more determined team. Barnhall picked up a turnover in the line out on half way shortly after the re4start and the line break by Luke Doddrell resulted in a penalty about 27 meters out. Connolly missed the attempt with a pulled shot and this laid the foundation for a bad day with the boot for the outhalf that had saved the day and played Barnhall into so many encounters this year. Within ten minutes of the second half DLSP continued to pressure Barnhall and Kavanagh picked up the ball from the maul post a line out ten meters out and drove home in the corner. Johnny Power just returned from his sting on the line missed the conversion and DLSP were a deserved 12 points to ten ahead. Barnhall made no progress due to the impact of the Back four already mentioned and on a rare incursion deep into the DLSP half Barnhall forced a penalty only 20 metres out and about five paces to the left of the posts. Uncharacteristically Connolly pulled the ball well wide. DLSP picked up the ball from the restart and pushed the ball into the Barnhall 22. From the resulting scrum DLSP moved right and the ball popped up and bounced around basketball style before Phil De Barra took control grasping the loos possession and crossing over in the Right hand corner. Power missed the conversion narrowly and the score was 10- 17 in favour of the visitors.
Sammy Darragh replaced Jason Van Hout and Barry Dunned and Chris O Connor the powerful front row and star of the under 20 side were introduced to the game. Sammy made his mark early with some fine tackles buts as the clock wound down Barnhall were not able to raise the pace of the game to allow the back line any opportunity to narrow the gap. Terrific tackling from Gilligan and committed defence from Francis Cooney and Ciaran O Brien added to Barnhall's wows. DLSP has found numbers in defence all after noon and Paul Burkes multiple attempts to break the line were foiled. On 37 minutes after a fantastic break by Eoin Hogan, which lifted the siege of the past five minutes by DLSP, brought play to just short of the DLSP 22 forcing Gilligan into conceding a scurried clearance. The line out was won by John Lark who had been the most influential Barnhall forward on the day and the ball was moved quickly by Eoin Burke. Paul Burke cam into the line and powered his way past the cover and won the race to the line mid way between the posts and the corner flag. Connolly has the opportunity to tie the game but missed leaving the score line at 15 points to 17. On the balance of play and with the greater commitment shown by DLSP the result was a fair reflection on the game.
Eoin Burke commented after the game that this was a huge disappointment to loose a game like this one. The disappointment was more to do with loosing three games in a row and finishing off a good season on such a low note. The pace of the game should have suited our game plan and we could have kept going at a high pace to the end.
The run in to the end of the season does not reflect the quality of play, skills and commitment Barnhall have displayed this year. Overall in the year we can be very happy to have contested the highest points in the league and not to have been in the position we were in for the past two years. On behalf of the fans and supporters of Barnhall a sincere thank you is due to the entire squad and management team for the entertainment given throughout the season

Too late the hero's in Highfield
24th of March 2007
Noel Dillion Reports

Barnhall travelled to Cork for the final away match of the AIB League last Saturday. The trip's to Cork this year proved to be a mixed bag with a big win over Middleton and a big loss to Clonakilty during the season. At the closing stages of this years campaign we faced Highfield where most of our encounters in the past have been very close affairs. Withy perfect conditions and a fine pitch a fast high quality game was expected. Both teams were missing some of the usual stars from the line up and both teams were in search of a place in the play-off stages in the league.
Barnhall started brightly with a fast open play approach. Highfield gave early indications that they were up for whatever style of play the visitors wanted to go for and despite good early pressure, Barnhall, conceded a very kickable penalty to the home side. On five minutes Brian O Meara, slotted home the penalty to open his account for the day. Barnhall continued to push hard in the tight and loose and Richie McDonough was the driving force behind the territorial advantage and clean possession being won. On ten minutes and following a good passage of play Eoin Burke put Connolly away and he ran to the gain line and put a well placed grubber kick in the way of Luke Dodderell. Doderell crossed over close to the touch line and Connolly was unable to add the points. On ten minutes Barnhall had edged in from 3 points to five.
Play flowed freely between the two 22 meter lines with Barnhall forcing a penalty out of the Highfield side who were beginning to show signs of weakening in defence. Connolly clotted home from 26 meters and after 16 minutes Barnhall were 3 points to 8 ahead. Highfield were not about to concede to easily and the Munster maul started to roll. With controlled aggression the home side started to win the 50 / 50 possession and a strong Highfield maul just outside the Barnhall 22, yielded some good possession which David O Brien had no difficulty picking up and crossing over close to the posts. O Meara added the conversion to bring the score back in favour of the home side at 10 points to eight and OMears added a second penalty to being his side up to 13 points in the first half. Barnhall still harried and looked for gaps in the Highfield line but stout defence from the entire back row kept the visitors from mking any progress. Cathal Connolly did receive a sweet pass from Eoin Burke and slotted home a fine drop Goal on 33 minutes to close the gap to 13 points to 11 which remained the half time result.
The first half analysis would have suggested it was anyone's game. However from the restart the Highfield pack upped the pace and they controlled the loose play to great effect. With only four minutes elapsed a surge by Highfield gave forward ball to the back line and Sean Meaney crossed over giving the reliable O'Meara a second straightforward conversion attempt. O'Meara added the points to hive a strong 20 points to 8 lead to the home side. Only five minutes later Barnhall did not defend a loose maul very convincingly and Highfield again foreces a turnover ball giving O'Meara an opportunity for a sniping run and he crosses over close to the touch line. O'Meara was unable to convert his own try so the score was now a daunting 25 points to 11 for the home side. The concession of twelve quick points was a killer blow and the home side went about the task of closing out the game.
The pace of the game dropped as the two packs of forwards played for the hard yards and little was yielded by either of the back lines. As the clock wound down the Barnhall attacks continues with flowing passes that made little progress. On 35 minutes Barnhall pushed hard and after a series of moves covering three phases of possession Eoin Burke flashed the ball out along the line. Eoin Hogan came into the line picked up the ball at pace and crossed over close to the touch line. With only five minutes of time remaining and the score at 25 points to16 a bonus point was a possibility and with a bit of fortune just maybe Barnhall could wish for more. A terrific passage of play followed and Eoin Burke, lead his side with determination to press home the advantage that had swung back in Barnhall's favour. After five phases of play Barnhall has moved the ball close to the five meter line and a quick snipe by Burke give the visitors a well worked and well deserved try. Connolly converted and thus ended a very entertaining encounter on 25 points to 23. A bonus point earned and the heroics of the Barnhall back line in defence and attack were commented on by a Munster team that were very pleased to come away with a win.
The race for the final spot in the last four now rests between four teams. Highfield and Trinity who play against each other in two weeks time. Barnhall will need the full five points if it can be gained in the last game against DLSP at home in Parsonstown. However as is often the case in horse racing its not the two in front you need to work about it's the one behind you and Young Munster with two games left to play could move into the shake up should they win their final games against Midleton already relegated and DLSP.