The Maxol-sponsored Carrick 1st XV suffered a narrow away defeat for the second week in a row when they were beaten by 18 points to 16 by Lisburn on Saturday 12 January. After a scrappy and erratically refereed first sixty minutes, Carrick had the better of the final quarter in terms of possession and territory but simply could not create the scores that would have won them them game. A missed penalty chance deep into injury time did indeed cost them the game but, in truth, they should not have been in that position. A little more patience in building attacks and more care in protecting possession could have brought tries rather than penalty attempts.
That said, credit is due to Lisburn for their defensive efforts and for putting Carrick under pressure in certain areas. They had the stronger scrum, won the line-out duel in the second half and competed well in the loose. For Carrick, MarK Patterson at No 8 again had an outstanding game, carrying strongly, tackling powerfully and performing his line-out duties almost faultlessly. Prop Robbie Williams also had a strong game as a ball carrier while scrum-half Ken Topping had another solid all-round game and took his try well.
On a very cold afternoon, with wet under-foot conditions, neither side was willing to be too adventurous in the eary stages but Lisburn took the lead with a penalty after three minutes. Thhey retained this lead until the twentieth minute when Ken Topping went over for what was to be Carrick’s only try.This follwed a penalty which was put into touch inside the Lisburn 22. Following a catch and drive, Topping picked up and ducked under a covering defender to dart over. Karl Wilkinson added the conversion points. With the boot, and the refereee’s whistle, tending to dominate matters the game continued in a rather stop-start manner, with Lisburn reducing the deficit to one point courtesy of a penalty after twenty-five minutes. Carrick though restored the four point margin with a Karl Wilkinson penalty after thirty-five minutes. Then in the dying stages of the half, a series of penalties to Lisburn-taken as scrums- led to the home side putting their winger in for a try in the corner. This was not converted but it meant that Lisburn led by 11 points to 10 at half-time.
Carrick got off to a bad start in the seconds half, conceding another try off a scrum after five minutes. After Carrick had lost the put-in at a scrum 5 metres out from their line, the Lisburn blind-side winger came in on a good angle and a well-timed pass put him right through the Carrick defence to score under the posts. The try was converted to give the home side the lead by 18 points to 10. From then on, it was a matter of Carrick trying to claw their way back into the game. They reduced the deficit to three points with a penalty, again kicked by Karl Wilkinson, after fifteen minutes of the second half. From about this point on, Carrick, thanks to some good kicking from Wilkinson, Topping and McIlroy, began to take territorial control and had a number of opportunities to create scoring chances. However, a seeming inability to keep control of the ball in contact cost them these chances and the only score Carrick had to show for their efforts was another Wilkinson penalty with two minutes of normal time to go. In a lengthy period of injury time, Carrick had further chances, including one when winger Adie Moore was just forced into touch. Following the line-out, Carrick won another penalty but Karl Wilkinson was unable to convert from an awkward angle and Lisburn held on to win by 18 points to 16.
Carrick travel to Randalstown on Saturday 19 January and will need an improved performance if they are to avenge the League defeat at Tom simms Memorial Park early in the season. ( Carrick were, of course, successful in the Junior Cup second round encounter at Randalstown in October.)
The Carrick team which faced Lisburn was:-
A. McKinney(Capt); A. Moore, J. Anderson, J. Sheriff, A. McIlroy; K. Wilkinson, K. Topping; A. Gibney, N. Hanna, R. Williams, A. Kincaid, C. Rodgers, C. Rea, R. Marsden, M. Patterson.
The Carrick 2nd XV were more successful, also at Lisburn, where they beat their counter-parts by 41 points to 16.
Fixtures for Saturday 19 January are:-
1st XV vs Randalstown, away
2nd XV vs Dungannon III, home
3rd XV vs Academy II, away
4th XV vs Bangor III, away
