Irish League Rd 3

Ulster Barbarians 21 - Gaelic Warriors 41

IWA Dublin - 11.11.2017

After the successful trip to England for the GB League it was back to the IWA Dublin for round three of the Irish League. This was originally our home round, planned for the Aurora but had to be cancelled due to one of this years storms. Confidence was high and it was a strong party of players who made the trip. Along with regular contenders Dave Ross, Bernard Rooney, Sean Smyth, Paul McLister, Derek Stockdale, Gail Chambers and Will Doggart, we were delighted to be joined by two of our younger members, Harry and Josh.

Ulster Barbarians v Gaelic Warriors

UB started with Dave, Harry, Paul and Will. The Warriors started with Amy Fitzpatrick, Stephen Aylmer, Ron O’Keefe and John McCarthy. The GWs started brightly, moving to a 3-1 lead, however as the UBs settled into the game they fought back to 3-3. Harry was showing an impressive amount of skill and pace, equalled only by Irish International Aylmer. The first quarter was closely fought with alternate scoring. However the GWs edged ahead to finish at 7-5.

The second quarter was another close affair, however the GWs brought on another International player, Alan Lynch, and their experience started to tell. The UBs played quite well, with Dave and Harry combining well, and Paul and Will working very hard in defence. However Aylmer started to take control of play, appearing to be in the right place at the right time most of the time, to the frustration of the UBs. Half time 18-11.

The UBs started the second half with Josh, Sean and Derek replacing Harry Paul and Will. Josh was soon in the thick of things, working hard and gamely taking on the Irish Internationals However the changes made little difference to the run of play. The GWs were able to target Dave, locking him up so that the UBs struggled to get out of their back court. Lynch made a number of interceptions as passing options were limited.  The third quarter ended 32-16.

The team was again refreshed for the final quarter with Dave, Gail, Bernard and Sean starting. However not even the wiley experience of Bernard could make a difference to the run of play. At times it seemed there were two Aylmers on the court as he appeared to be everywhere. Final score 41- 21. It was a disappointing start, but up against a very experienced GWs, the Barbarians had to view the match as a learning experience and the younger players, Josh and Harry, acquited themselves very well