Clondalkin preserve hopes of title match berth

CLONDALKIN RFC thirds capitalised on the untimely depletion of the Tallaght seconds to record an emphatic 41-0 victory in their Leinster Metro Division Nine clash at Gordon Park on Saturday.

Looking to secure the points and preserve their hopes of finishing in the top two in order to book a place in the league decider, the hosts did suffer an early setback when Chris Kelly was shown a yellow card.

Tallaght, themselves, began the game with only 14 men, but pressed for an early lead, only to see Clondalkin’s Colin Lyons intercept the ball and race clear to hand Clondalkin a 5-0 lead against the run of play.

Matters quickly grew worse for the visitors as the injuries continued to mount up and when Joe Ivers was also handed a yellow, they were left with only 11 players on the pitch.

Smelling blood, Clondalkin doubled their lead to 10-0 by the halftime break when Carl Horan broke over the whitewash.

Introducing a couple of subs at half time, the homeside picked up where they left off when newly-married Craig Roche weaved his way through for a superb solo touchdown.

Clondalkin ran in some late scores including a lovely team effort that was finished by Dara Ward in a match that also featured fine performances by Luke Sweetman and Pádraig Ó’Ciardha who excelled on his debut for Clondalkin against his old club.