Lowly Dolphin put dent in Cashel’s All Ireland League ambitions with draw at Spafield

All-Ireland League Division 2A

Cashel 10 Dolphin 10

The All-Ireland League has entered its last third of fixtures and teams now have a good idea about which will be in contention for promotion and which are battling at the other end of the table. The upshot is that any team is capable of winning points, regardless of the opposition, and this was borne out on Saturday last at Spafield, Cashel, when second from bottom Dolphin put a dent in the home team’s ambitions with a fighting display that earned them a draw.

Conditions were damp, with a strong wind blowing down the field towards the clubhouse end. Cashel faced this in the first half and Dolphin used it extensively to keep them pinned back in their own half.
After five minutes Cashel won a penalty in the scrum but from there on the scrums were evenly matched. Ball handling was difficult, as Dolphin were camped in the Cashel half for the first 15 minutes, after which they were awarded a penalty. Surprisingly, they opted to kick to the corner and turned down an easy three points.

Cashel were penalised a number of times at the breakdown and this kept the pressure on them. Dolphin had the upper hand in the lineouts, and as Cashel struggled in this area scoring chances were limited. Brian O’Connor made a good run towards the Dolphin posts but the support did not arrive on time and the chance was lost.

A feature of the first half was the strong carries taken on by Mikey Wilson, who was making his first appearance in many months after an injury. The Cashel defence was excellent and out half Aidan McDonald made some excellent clearances when under pressure.

Opportunities were scarce and a nil-all scoreline at half-time looked on the cards. Then three minutes before the break Michael Hickey sidestepped the defence and broke ten metres. He offloaded and James Ryan, Niall Fitzgerald and Ben Murray brought the ball to the try line, from where Cormac O’Donnell crashed over for a try. The conversion drifted narrowly wide in the strong wind.
The try was a little bit against the run of play, but when the opportunity arrived it was brilliantly executed. The half time score was Cashel 5 Dolphin 0.

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Cashel had the strong wind at their backs in the second half, but history will tell you it will not win the game for you.

Cashel kicked off the second half but the ball went dead and Dolphin had a scrum on halfway. This seemed to energise them and they totally dominated the third quarter. In a two-minute spell Cashel conceded three penalties and a player received a yellow card. Dolphin pounded their line and eventually got over for a equalising try in the corner.

Three minutes later they were back again and in one sweeping movement they were over in the left hand corner. Both Dolphin conversions were missed.

Cashel were floundering and the usual cohesion was not evident. On 67 minutes a spark from Aidan McDonald created a chance. He sent a pinpoint kick from inside his own half deep inside the Dolphin 22 to earn a 50/22. Cashel won the lineout, set up a maul and drove over the line. James Ryan touched down to level the game. The conversion was missed.

Cashel finished the game strongly and spent the final five minutes bashing the Dolphin defence but Dolphin held on for the draw, which they fully deserved.

This is a good Cashel team, with some excellent, talented players. Last Saturday was not their finest display but they have the ability to regroup and challenge for top spot with five games left.
To prove the point about the abilty of teams to beat each other, UL Bohemians who are in last position, beat Queens University, who were on top.

Five points separate the top five teams, with Cashel in fifth position. It is still all to play for.

Cashel play Ballymena on this Saturday in Ballymena.

Cashel team (1-20): C O’Donnell, N Fitzgerald, B Ryan, B O’Connor, F O’Donoghue, L Shine, J Ryan, M Wilson, M Hickey, A McDonald, J O’Rourke, C Cashman, B Murray, R Kingston, F Bergada, K Murphy, C Ryan, R Moran, A O’Connor, P Leamy.