Ophir 1's VS Portadown 3's

Ophir 1st XV vs Portadown 3's

On Saturday 9th of September, Ophir 1st XV took to the field knowing that a strong performance on the first day of the season was needed. The pitch was heavy under foot due to a great amount of rainfall over the last 2 days.

All was silent as Ophir had the kick off, but not the start they had hoped for. Playing out half, Andrew Rushton didn't quite make the 10 metres as it was called back for a scrum to Portadown. Amends were then made as Ophir dominated the scrum and began their way up the pitch towards the tryline. Having the bigger pack, Portadown looked destined to dominate the lineout, however the lineout is a massive focus for the Ophir lads and they looked sharp in claiming the ball with both Nigel Murray and Cameron Keys crucially doing so.

After great work from the Ophir pack in keeping Portadown on the back foot, Andrew Rushton scores a penalty, putting a smile on the Ophir supporters faces. Although this did not last long with Portadown pinning the Ophir lads in their own 5 metre line. Despite Ophir's best efforts to defend and a solid forward pass that somehow was missed, Portadown crossed the whitewash and the try was converted.

Ophir fought back with intent. Jamie Mawhinney was a constant threat as he attacked the Portadown line time after time. All of this great pressure allowed Ophir to put another penalty between the posts again by Andrew Rushton. Just as before, anything Ophir can do Portadown can apparently do better, flashing the ball wide on two occasions. James Milligan, excelling in his full back position this season, disrupted the first attack but could do little with the second attempt. Portadown went over the try line yet again, even though the referee missed a blatant foot crossing the dead ball line.

Half Time: Ophir 6 - 14 Portadown

Second half called for some substitutions from Ophir, with Reece Kennedy and sicknote Chris Burrows making way for Jordan Wilson and Craig Smith to enter the fray. The substitutions didn't last long as complaints come flying through from both opposition coaches. Not realising, Ophir allowed 2 substitutes to happen between both adjacent pitches, creating a standstill for over 5 minutes, but was then resolved by returning the players to their respective matches.

Chris Burrows was unable to continue, but club legend Gavin Robinson took to the field for a great 1st appearance of the season. Even he could not stop Portadown racking up the points, as they crossed the line 2 more times to add more misery to the Ophir lads.

The last 20 minutes of the match is historically and very typically when Ophir wake up, and today was no different. Meter by meter, the lads crawled up the pitch with a good passage of play from the Ophir back line, resulting in a Lineout 10 metres from the try line. Captain Christopher Phillips and Coach Richard Press linked up well from the lineout as Christopher Phillips dragged the defenders on with a high risk manoeuvre. Sometimes this doesn't pay off but offloading to Ricky Press, he manages to charge over the line scoring Ophirs 1st Try.

Inspired by the recent score, Ophir gained back momentum. Wanting to go out fighting, each player sought the ball more and more as attempts from Gavin Robinson, Reece Kennedy and Nigel Murray kept testing the Portadown defence. Gavin Robinson even had an attempt held up on the line, how did that happen!? Eventually, the 2nd score came through Christopher Phillips with his famous 5 metre out move, which is really just 'pick on the smallest person ..and run at them'.

The last 5 minutes played out with Ophir on the defensive. None other than Nigel Murray, who was an apparent menace all game, picked up a loose ball and drove the Ophir lads to safety.

Final Score Ophir 16 - 30 Portadown

Man of the Match: Nigel Murray