Armagh3 v Omagh Match Report 04-01-2020

6 Jan 2020 by City of Armagh Rugby Club

City of Armagh Thirds continued their winning ways with a bonus point victory over Omagh Thirds in Omagh on Saturday; a win that takes them to the top of Provincial League Two, at least for the present. Captain, Andrew Brady, won the toss and elected to play up the hill and into the breeze for the first half. With both sides playing skilful rugby and being strong in defence a state of stalemate prevailed for the first half hour, no real scoring opportunities arising for either side. However when a penalty was awarded against Omagh for not releasing in a tackle Con Oliver took advantage with a tap and go that took the Omagh players completely by surprise. His twenty metre sprint to the line went unchallenged and he touched the ball down left of the posts. The conversion by Andrew Knipe was successful and gave Armagh a 7-0 lead.
A second try followed within minutes when a well rehearsed move from an Armagh scrum in midfield released winger Dan Reynolds for a try under the posts. Again the conversion from Knipe was cleared. Armagh sustained a period of Omagh pressure but were able to clear their line and work their way up the pitch, the second row combination of Willie Martin and Con Oliver taking the ball into contact. In the dying moments of the half prop James Johnston scurried across the line for Armagh’s third and a 21-0 halftime lead.
At the restart Archie McAlpine, Sam Shepherd and Ryan Morton came on for Gareth Megaw, Scott Armstrong and Andrew Brady. Although this unsettled the side for a while Armagh’s superior tackling and ball handling skills came to the fore and Shepherd capitalised with a bonus point try under the posts, with Knipe maintaining his 100% conversion record.
Although Omagh secured two unconverted tries of their own there was no doubt that Armagh were deserved winners by 28 to 10. The side can look forward with confidence to their encounter with league challengers Bangor Seconds at the Palace Grounds on Saturday.
Armagh team: A Edgar, T Henry, J Johnston, W Martin, C Oliver, G Megaw, J Gilpin, R Morris, T Girvan, A Winder, S Armstrong, A Knipe, M Allen, D Reynolds, A Brady, A McAlpine, S Shepherd, R Morton.
Scorers: Tries – J Johnston, C Oliver, D Reynolds, S Shepherd. Conversions – A Knipe (4)

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