Tullamore finish strongly to overcome Wicklow

This season Tullamore have reserved their best performances for away venues and they have started the new year in a similar manner by following a great win in Belfast with this mediocre effort in spite of the margin of victory. At one point midway through the second half the home side trailed by a point. On the mitigating side, Tullamore lost three forwards to the flu bug leading up to the match and a fourth with a serious injury in the first 10 minutes. Tullamore opened brightly and Polonga Pedro intercepted the Wicklow No 9 early on to race clear and score under the posts. Gearoid kicked an easy conversion. Tullamore were not turning possession into scores and Wicklow kicked a penalty on 24 minutes for offside. A fine individual try from winger Colin Hughes, converted by Gearoid, followed within 5 minutes to stretch the home team"s lead. The referee then sin binned a Tullamore defender for repeated offside and Wicklow took advantage by kicking the penalty and worse was to follow in this period when they barged over for a converted try to leave Tullamore with a slim lead of 14-13 at half-time. Captain O"Grady got in for a try in the corner after 12 minutes following a great pass by Melville who proved to be lethal in the opposing 22 in this half. For whatever reason, Tullamore did not push home their advantage and Wicklow fought back to score a try and the conversion put them ahead. Following two high tackles in their own 22 the referee had no alternative but to issue a yellow card to a Wicklow player and it was then the home side"s turn to take advantage of the extra man when Andy Melville got on for a try, converted by Gearoid. Andy Melville again showed his vast experience to get his second try from close range converted by Gearoid. Polonga, not to be outdone, got in for his second try within minutes which Gearoid converted from the touchline. Gearoid then won a race to the line following a delicate grubber kick by Aaron Deverell. A convincing result and let"s not dismiss Wicklow who fought bravely for at least 70 minutes and gave the home supporters some anxious moments. There were some solid displays by the likes of Darragh Lowry, playing in the unusual position of tighthead, and the mature warrior Donal Milne who moved to No. 4. Aaron Deverell was very solid in midfield but the Print Plus (Tony McCormack) man-of-the-match was Cathal Feighery, who came on as a replacement for the injured Ivor Deverell after 11 minutes and was everywhere. TEAM: 15. Richie Hughes, 14. Colin Hughes, 13. Ivor Scully, 12. Aaron Deverell, 11. Mark Whelan, 10. Gearoid O"Grady. 9. Adam Hughes, 1. Ronan Glennon, 2. Cian Glennon, 3. Darragh Lowry, 4. Donal Milne, 5. Ivor Deverell, 6. Polonga Pedro, 7. Rob Connor, 8. Andy Melville. REPLACEMENTS used: Derek Farrell, Cathal Feighery, Cian Sullivan, Mick Glew, Mick Hart. NEXT WEEK 1ST TEAM away to Monkstown in the Leinster League Div 1 on Sunday (2.30pm). U-20s TEAM away to Portarlington in Gale League Cup on Sunday (2.30pm). PROVINCIAL SECONDS LEAGUE DIV 1 TULLAMORE 43 WICKLOW 0 A convincing win takes Tullamore back to the top spot in this Leinster League competition with two games remaining and in all likelihood the title will be decided when the top two, Tullamore and Portlaoise clash on March 1. There could only be one choice for the Old Harbour Bar man-of-the-match: hat-trick hero, Brian Mahon. The next big day for this team is Sunday Feb 1 when the Seconds Provincial Towns Cup starts, with Tullamore drawn at home to joint league leaders Portlaoise. Tullamore 2nd team are home to Athy in a friendly on Saturday evening at 6.30pm. U-20 LEINSTER GALE LEAGUE CUP Tullamore 23 Tullow 10 Tullamore remain on target for a top two finish to the league phase and a subsequent home semi-final after this win under lights in Spollenstown on Saturday night. Tullow were certainly the best opposition to come to Tullamore in this campaign and their defence was rock solid. A good start to the new year from the 22 players who got game time on the night, but two men stood out - back-row forwards Cian O"Sullivan and Cathal Feighery. CLUB DRAW The second Early Bird draw took place on Sunday and two tickets for Munster"s Heineken Cup game this weekend were won by Michael Butler/Paddy Finner from Roscommon. Two tickets also go to seller, Phelim Kerin. The winner of two tickets to Leinster"s final home game was Anne Kelly, Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar, and the seller who gets two tickets also was Trevor O"Callaghan.