Blackrock College 10
Belvedere College 10
BLACKROCK AND BELVEDERE must meet again after playing out a gripping 10-10 draw in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup in the competition’s headline quarter-final.
Blackrock started brightly and were awarded a penalty just a couple of minutes into the game but it was missed by full-back James McGowan.
The south Dublin side continued to dominate the match and got the first score of the game when Luke Gaffney made the most of an opening in the Belvedere defence to set Richie Dunne free for the first try of the game. McGowan converted from under the posts to give the favourites a 7-0 lead.
It didn’t take long for Belvedere to get back into the quarter-final. Conor Jennings, who missed two penalties earlier in the game, successfully scored from a much simpler third attempt.
Jennings would go on to miss a fourth penalty before half-time, meaning Belvedere trailed by four points at the break.
Belvedere carried their forward momentum into the second-half and nearly scored form a superb counter-attack from their own half in the 38th minute, but it was somehow kept out by a terrific Blackrock defence.
They were, however, to be rewarded for their pressure when David Hawkshaw overpowered three Blackrock defenders to cross the line and give Belvedere the lead for the first time in the game. The conversion by Jennings extended the gap to three and set up a tense finale.
Belvo had the opportunity to extend their lead to six points after they were awarded a penalty with 12 minutes to go. Instead of kicking for goal, they opted for the corner, conscious of the several failed attempts in the first-half. No score resulted from the play and their lead remained three points.
That decision perhaps proved costly as with five minutes to go, Blackrock were awarded a penalty for a high tackle. Conor Dean showed nerves of steel to kick the ball over the bar to tie the scores at 10-10.
The second-half was a battering affair, as both teams still tried their best to carve open opportunities with free-flowing rugby, and the outcome remained uncertain right until the final whistle.
Neither side looked happy with the draw, but they can both sleep easy tonight, knowing they are still in the competition.
The replay has been scheduled for 3pm on Monday, 22 February in Donnybrook.
Blackrock College scorers:
Tries: Richie Dunne
Conversion: James McGowan
Penalties: Conor Dean
Belvedere College scorers:
Tries: David Hawkshaw
Conversion: Conor Jennings
Penalties: Conor Jennings
Blackrock College: James McGowan, Patrick Patterson, Gavin Mullin, Liam Turner, Conor Kelly, Conor Dean, Luke Gaffney, Emmet Burns, Stephen McLoughlin, Richie Mouatt, Colm O’Flaherty, Charlie Ryan, Richard Dunne, John Fairley, Caelan Doris (Captain).
Replacements: Hugh Egleston, Charlie Connolly Giuseppe Coyne, Jack Gardiner, Hugo Burke, Paul Cullen, Alejandro Alonso, Dan Power.
Belvedere College: Hugh O’Sullivan, James McKeown, Conor Jennings, Hugh Sexton, Peter Maher, David Hawkshaw, Paraic Cagney, Daniel McCaffrey, Cian Galvin, Conor Walsh, Hugh Fenlon, Brian Egan (Captain), Senan McNulty, Max Kearney, Tom DeJongh.
Replacements: Sam Osborne, Cillian Molloy, Jesse Iredale, James Kenny, Jake Robinson, Brian Gibbons, Fergus Flood, Fiachra Smith.
Referee: Dermot Blake
No they’d be terrible. As a Forest fan, I think the team have been, for the most part playing good attacking football and scoring goals. They’ve been inconsistent – a little soft at the back is all. Due to the influx of cash, the standard in the EFL is far more technically proficient and tactically sophisticated league (at the top end at least) than it was when O’Neill and Keane last managed this division. I’ve seen nothing in their recent work to suggest they have the tactical savvy to do a job for Forest. They certainly don’t have tne man-management skills to get the best out of the modern professional footballer.
@Fergal O’ Reilly: yes because they got to the last 16 of the euros and 90 mins from a World Cup without having a clue about tactics. Sick of people churning out this shpeel about o Neil and Keane.
@Lorcan Cunningham: there was a horrible amount of luck and just plain heart and fight by the players to get there though. When the adrenaline of the Euros died, then the will of the players did too. There’s nothing motivating about playing the same aimless football for the following two years when smaller countries with less talent become more proficient and confident.
@Lorcan Cunningham: Nah! You’ve cherrypicked one example of things working out – and there’s probably one or two other properly “impressive” displays e.g. Germany and Serbia. (But even then what exactly was their tactical master stroke? ) And anyway, the last 12-18 months have been abject – deplorable even – with ZERO semblance of a tactical game plan . And on top of that, you need to be even better man-managers in a club environment because of player/agent-power. The two lads are beyond abysmal in that department.
@Fergal O’ Reilly: last 12 months things crumbled due to injuries/retirements. The lads were at the helm for some memorable nights for Irish football over their tenure, nights that had been lacking for a decade. Get off the o Neill’s a dinosaur bandwagon lads it’s embarrassing.
@Fergal O’ Reilly: I don’t think anybody could disagree with you . O’Neill would be absolute disaster for Forest. In fact I think he would be a disaster for any team. If you want to watch dross week in week out, get Big Sam. At least you would have some chance of promotion
In the context of management, to mention Brian Clough and Martin O’Neill in the same sentence is sacrilegious. Brian Clough was one of the greatest football managers who ever lived. Martin O’Neill was at best a journeyman manager.
@Fergal O’ Reilly: The Big Sam thing was a joke by the way. You should also pray the don’t get Big Sam.
@Lorcan Cunningham: I’m not on the “dinosaur bandwagon” apropos of nothing (like I’d never bring it up for the sake of getting a dig in – that’d be puerile, and indeed embarrassing) …I only make the case for his lack of tactical nous in making the case against his being considered for the role
@CrabaRev: Ha! I get you! To be honest, we’ve almost been relegated for the past few seasons, been banned from the transfer market for FPA transgressions, had parts of the stadium closed off etc. I just think that being 4 points off a promotion spot in mid January isn’t a bad place to be, and this manager should have been given more time and resources.
@Lorcan Cunningham: Not as embarrassing as O’Neill himself. From his amazing lack of on-field tactics, to his total lack of regimented training sessions (no practicing of set piece defending?!) to his contemptuous attitude to the Irish media and Tony O’Donoghue in particular.
The man belongs in the dustbin of history, and should be let nowhere near any professional setup.
Let’s see what they can do when they can actually buy in players unlike international football. The ‘we haven’t got the footballers’ excuse would work here
He wasn’t fired!
“RUNNN FORREST RUNNN”
I’d like to see Keane work as a No. 2 for a manager who plays attacking football such as Brendan Rodgers or Roberto Martinez.
1. Karanka was not fired – he resigned, as per the club website.
2. In what parallel universe would either O’Neill or Keane be a good fit for Forest? A generation of Forest fans were brought up on free flowing passing football as practiced by Brian Clough. The younger ones want this to remain as the club ethos – we do not want to watch ‘$hit on a stick’ football with no real tactics as played by O’Neill sides. Clough once famously said “if god had wanted football to be played in the clouds, he’d have put grass up there”. O’Neill has never heeded his mentor’s coaching philosophy as a manager, somewhat ironic given that O’Neill was a cultured playmaker himself.
No, two coaches we definitely do not want to see employed at the City Ground are Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane.
@Colm O’Sullivan: I hope it’s neither of those two. I’ve a feeling it could be Jokanovic
Always liked O’Neill as a manager, gave Leicester a great belief when they were down and out! I don’t think he will be considered though…feel Marinakis will look for someone like Mark Hughes or David Moyes
That is ironic; good last line.
Daryl Murphy will end up there if Roy Keane goes there, Roy Keane and Daryl Murphy go together just as well as Harry Redknapp and Nico Kranjcar
@Eddie Dillon.: Daryl Murphy is already there.
@Eddie Dillon.: Ah jaysus Eddie