Cookstown 45 – Enniskillen 3rds 0
Cookstown avenged their early season defeat at the hands of Enniskillen with a comfortable victory at a wind-swept and cold Mid Ulster Sports Arena on Saturday.
Cookstown elected to play against the elements in the first half and were immediately under pressure in their own 22 but good defence ensured their try line wasn’t breached. After Cookstown were awarded a penalty, Ciaran Currie elected to run the ball and having gone through several phases, Kezzy Nugent was on hand to finish in the corner for a 5-0 lead. The advantage was soon extended when Stephen McKenna scored a superb individual try and this was matched by Ciaran Currie who cut through several Enniskillen tackles to score under the posts. Cookstown weren’t finished in the first half yet though and Stephen McKenna again was the man to get the score after being on the end of a great run from Ciaran Hagan.
Half Time Score: Cookstown 24 – Enniskillen 3rds 0
Playing with wind in the second half, Cookstown made good use of the conditions to pin Enniskillen back in their own half. Following a scrappy Enniskillen lineout, Kyle Campton and Marty Boone drove the Enniskillen pack over their own line with Boone ripping the ball and getting a try his hard work deserved. Mark Crawford got his first try for the club as he was on the end of a flowing backs move to dot down in the corner.
The try scoring concluded with a second try for the captain Kezzy Nugent, who was on hand for another simple finish after an outstanding run by Marty Boone in the build-up. This try also ensured he kept his nose in front of Stephen McKenna in the all-important top try scorer leader board.
The game also marked the long awaited debut for the club of GP Eastwood with the newcomer putting in an impressive 10 minute spell and surely laying down a marker for selection in future games. Tomas Mauricas continued his fine form and deservedly collected this week’s Bobby Boucher award for man of the match.
Director of Rugby Liam Currie told reporters after the game, ‘Both teams found it hard to deal with the challenging conditions but I was pleased with how we quickly identified and exploited the Enniskillen weaknesses to create scores.’
A busy January continues for Cookstown this Saturday with a Tyrone derby away to Clogher Valley in a top of the table clash.
