A Clontarf performance at its most typical. Never far from trouble, never sure of possession. And yet the guts to earn a ragged glory even though the opposition appeared to have the edge.
Whatever Alex Wyllie actually does feed his men, it's having mixed effects. The scoreboard may look convincing, yet up until the final moments the result was anything but. And no one can deny that luck played its hand. Richie Murphy, who had risen from his sickbed shortly before the end, chipped two immaculate penalties in the last five minutes to break the 20-20 deadlock. Then, as Dungannon pressed for the winning try, David Humphreys misfired his pass to Jonathan Bell. Gary Kavanagh duly intercepted, ran to the line, and that was that.
"Well it certainly was very inconsistent," said Wyllie, who spent most of the game isolated in different corners of Castle Avenue. "I said before the game that we'd be pleased to come out with a couple of points and we ended up getting more than that. Whether we deserved that much I don't know, but you have to take your opportunities."
Clontarf came in and out of the game with remarkable irregularity. At times, the backs would be hopelessly scattered, and then create some unexpected magic. The pack would often flake against the opposition, then drive wildly forward, especially when Donal Sheehan was leading the way.
They certainly began very badly - but when do Clontarf ever do otherwise? Humphreys kicked his first penalty in the opening minute and Bryn Cunningham could enjoy the view as he strolled in for the easiest of tries two minutes later. Wyllie had started to roam the sideline.
Dave O'Brien seemed a little uncertain at outhalf in place of Murphy, and blew his first chance at a penalty. But after half an hour he'd kicked two, as Clontarf gradually showed some flair. The last 10 minutes of the half were then exclusively theirs, and when captain Bobby Baggot broke from the ruck for their opening try, it was no less than they deserved. Wyllie viewed that one from behind the goal at the far end of the field.
Dungannon's problem was making possession count. They had vast amounts of it yet rarely finished what they started. Donovan Rossi had burst free for Clontarf's second try just minutes after the restart, so they were now chasing a 10point deficit.
On the hour, however, Humphreys picked off a pass from Bell and skipped in for a try. By converting and then adding a penalty not long after, he had drawn the sides level.
Wyllie was now back on the sideline and said a few words to the substitutes. Murphy came on, followed by Kavanagh, and from then on Clontarf used their possession to greater effect.
It all ended with a smile on Wyllie's face. But why all that walking about? "Well it's important to watch the positions, and watch the lines. You can do that a lot better from behind the goal. Plus you don't have to listen to all the bullshit on the sideline."
So two wins out of three, and for the time being, keep bringing out the platters of barbed wire and raw meat.
Scoring Sequence: 1 min: D Humphreys penalty, 0-3; 3: J Cunningham try, Humphreys cons, 0-10: 23: D O'Brien penalty 3-10; 27: O'Brien penalty 6-10; 31: B Baggot try, O'Brien cons, 13-10; 41: D Rossi try, O'Brien cons, 20-10; 60: Humphreys try, con, 20-17; 72: Humphreys pen, 20-20; 76: R Murphy pen, 23-20; 80: Murphy pen, 26-20; 82: G Kavanagh try, Murphy con, 33-20.
Clontarf: K Nowlan; A Reddan, D Rossi, D McElligot, O Winchester; D O'Brien, R O'Reilly; T Kearns, T Foucher, P McQuillan, D Sheehan, D Moore, D Quinn, P Lynn, B Baggot. Replacements: R Murphy for Winchester (60 mins), A Clarke for P McQuillan (74 mins), G Kavanagh for Rossi (78 mins).
Dungannon: B Cunningham; A Hood, J Bell, Alastair Clarke, M Bradley; D Humphreys, S Bell; R Mackey, Allen Clarke, G Leslie, A Kearney, K Walker, A Boyd, A Hughes, R Stafford. Replacements: J Fitzpatrick for Mackey (50 mins), A Redpath for Alistair Clarke (63 mins).
Yellow cards: D Quinn (Clontarf) 37 mins.
Referee: O Trevor (Munster).
