Ophir too strong for Letterkenny!

Ophir first XV, sponsored by Biffa and MCW Properties returned home to Magowan Park after last week's trip away to Limavady.

With a number of influential players missing due to injury, Ophir took to the pitch facing cold and blustery conditions.

Ophir won the toss and choose to allow Letterkenny to kick the game off.

The Letterkenny outside half got the match underway with a high, hanging kick that held up in the high winds. The Ophir pack failed to take responsibility for the kick off, with no one claiming a clean catch, Ophir hacked the ball back up towards the Letterkenny end, signalling a nervous first 5 minutes for Ophir.

Sustained possession and phase play for Letterkenny led to some serious thrusts at the Ophir line which were eventually extinguished by some brutal defensive work by Philip Adgey who met the Letterkenny 8 just inches from the Ophir line, holding him up, creating a maul and making an important turnover for Ophir. This allowed Ophir to have the foot in at scrum time and clear their lines. There was however an unfortunate injury to Ophir Number 8, Conor Bond, who was forced off with an elbow injury, having put his body on the line to keep Letterkenny from crossing the whitewash.

This seemed to be the reality check that Ophir needed, as from this point onwards Ophir worked their way into the game even with 14 men on the park.

Patrick McCabe, Jonny Murphy and Sean O'Hare combined well throughout the game to disrupt the Letterkenny lineouts, forcing a number of turnovers from Letterkenny throw in.

It was clear that the heavier Letterkenny Pack wanted to play things tight and narrow, both in attack and defence. Ophir recognised this and began to play a more expansive game, utilising the the outside backs to punch holes outside the narrow Letterkenny defence.

After working their way into the Letterkenny 22, an infringement at the ruck offered the chance to show intent and put the penalty into touch for an attacking lineout.

Even with only 7 forwards on the pitch, Ophir executed a clean lineout, with John-Joe Flood finding Patrick McCabe in the middle of the lineout and the rest of the pack setting up a powerful maul that led to Phillip Adgey crossing for his first of two tries on the day.

Ophir outside half James Milligan failed to convert the try, however made a mends 5 minutes later, sliding a penalty attempt between the posts after the Letterkenny 8 again infringed at a ruck.

The remainder of the first half was seen out with a succession of phases in midfield as the Letterkenny defensive line held out until half time.

The second half was kicked off by Ophir's stand in scrum half Alan Davison, who shuffled in a number of positions from centre as skipper Karl Davis was unavailable for the match.

With Ophir facing their clubhouse and now playing towards their favoured end of the pitch the pack chased down the kick off and put Leterkenmy under pressure with some aggressive hits and an organised defensive line.

This eventually led to a turnover by John-Joe Flood which allowed James Milligan to put the ball in touch just metres out from the Lettekenny try line.

Another clinical maul and drive ensued which led to a try for Patrick McCabe after another well thought out and executed line out call. The try was converted and the score was 15-0 to the home side.

With some breathing space between the teams, the Ophir back line decided to ignore the soft conditions under foot and expose the defensive narrowness of their opponents by running set moves designed to pull their defensive counterparts around with good dummy lines and precise passing. This pressure led to another kickable penalty which James Milligan dispatched leaving the score 18-0.

Buoyed by the success of their passing and running game, the Ophir back line pressed on from the restart, making incisions with every phase. During this period, the Leterkenny scrum half was forced off after attempting to tackle a bullocking Jonny Murphy, the number of players on each side were now even.

After another penalty conceded by Letterkenny on half way, James Milligan again found a great touch deep in the opponents half.

Yet again, Ophir set up a strong maul, only to be stopped by the illegal tactics of the Letterkenny 8, who was duly sin binned for dragging down the maul.

The ensuing penalty led to another lineout and maul which resulted in Philip Adgey scoring his second of the day from his arm chair ride at the back of the powerful Ophir Maul, leaving the score at 25-0 to the hosts, which is the way it stayed until the final whistle.

Although disappointed not to have achieved the bonus point after squandering a number of chances during the second half, Ophir were pleased to take the 4 league points on offer and push them into 4th in Kukri Qualifying 3.

Special mention must be made for the Harvey brothers who have been rocks in defence and added a incisive edge in attack this year,
seemingly following on the Ophir tradition of brothers combining well for the first XV, after the Lucas & Davis brothers being mainstays of the team sheet over the last decade.

After a tough day in Limavady last Saturday, Ophir will be pleased to have carded their first clean sheet of the season and look to carry that form into the away match against Civil Service next Saturday.