All the attention might have been on the front pitch where the Firsts took on and beat Old Belvedere but there was also an excellent performance from the Thirds on the back pitch as they played Coleraine 2nds in the second round of the Crawford Cup. It is a reflection of the progress that City of Armagh RFC has made in recent years as it was Armagh 2nds who beat Coleraine 2nds in the final of the Crawford Cup in 2010; now it’s the Thirds turn. Armagh had beaten this side in Coleraine four weeks ago but were still expecting a tough match and that is what they got. Dave Eakin and Andrew Winder provided coaching advice from the touch line and captain Connor Simms and vice-captain Andrew Knipe led on the pitch.
Armagh knew they had to start strongly and that is what they did when Con Oliver took a quick tap penalty and burst over from 5m for a try just 4 minutes in. Although the conversion was missed Armagh had the lead they wanted. Coleraine fought back with a try of their own from a scrum 10 metres out for 5-5.
It was end to end stuff for a while with some loose passes and poor tactical decisions meaning that neither side had an advantage but it was Armagh that broke the stalemate when they won turnover ball from a Coleraine scrum on half way. The forwards gained some ground then scrum half Trevor Girvan fed the ball out to the back line of Knipe, Crozier, Reynolds, and Andrew Brady to Adam Magowan on the right wing. Some slick footwork and he was over the try line to touch down right of the posts. Knipe converted for a 12-5 lead. A Coleraine penalty narrowed the gap to 4 points at half time. David Spratt had to go off on the stroke of half time when he took a Coleraine shoulder to the side of his face.
Mark Allen came on and the second half started as the first with the Armagh pack of Simon Carlisle, Andrew Morton, Neill Lutton, Con Oliver, Jonny Clarke, Matthew Steenson, Connor Simms and Gareth Megaw applying most of the pressure keeping Coleraine in their own half. It was from a scrum inside the 22 that Armagh got their third try right of the posts with Dan Reynolds at centre going over to stretch the lead to 17-8. The fourth try went to Luke Crozier who was just returning from a broken hand sustained in training a month previously. It started with Jonny Clarke, who had an excellent game, taking a quick penalty on the Coleraine 22 and feeding Oliver who went on a typical barge through the defence then passed to Crozier for a try under the posts. Matthew Steenson added the conversion for a well deserved 24-8 point win and a place in the quarter finals in the new year.
The team really appreciated the support of a good crowd on the touch line and expect another tough match when it comes to the next round. In the meantime it is an away match at Clougher Valley next week and then a top of the league away encounter with Carrickfergus in two weeks.