Despite dominating for large periods of the game, and leading 24-0 early in the second-half, Dublin University Football Club (DUFC) Women had to endure a late onslaught by a dogged Arklow side, which came within touching distance of a memorable victory. However, it was not to be, as DUFC put a heavy defeat to Balbriggan behind them last weekend to claim a second win of the season in Division Three of the Leinster League.
In bitterly cold conditions at a floodlit College Park, Joe Horan’s side took to the pitch in their changed kit of white jerseys due to a colour clash with the visiting side. Undaunted by the testing conditions and late change of jersey, Trinity started quickest. Led by captain Molly Boyne, the players piled some early pressure on the visitor’s defence.
Unfazed, the physically imposing Arklow side quickly came to terms with Trinity’s attack and enjoyed considerable success in the scrum against Trinity’s smaller pack. Only superb defence prevented the Arklow fullback from notching an early try when she broke through the DUFC line, hauled down metres from the posts. Despite relentless pressure by the visitors’ attack, Trinity’s defence held strong, with some excellent tackling from Boyne and Claudia Alonso blunting the Arklow attack.
DUFC soon rallied, with Kayla Young and Síofra McGuinness testing the Arklow defence. However, it took a moment of brilliance from fullback Niamh O’Kelly Lynch to break the deadlock. Collecting the ball in midfield, she breezed through the opposition’s defence before touching the ball down to give Trinity the lead slightly against the run of play. O’Kelly Lynch quickly doubled her tally moments later following another scintillating break.
The visitor’s attempts to build any sort of momentum in the DUFC half were fruitless, as some superb defensive play by Young and Alonso prevented them from finding any meaningful foothold in the game. As half-time approached, the imperious O’Kelly Lynch tormented the visitors again as she collected the ball from the halfway line before finding the gap in the opposition defence to complete her hat-trick. Boyne added the additional to give DUFC a comfortable 17-0 lead at half-time.
DUFC exploded out of the blocks in the second-half, keen to kill off any hope of an Arklow revival. Good running by Boyne tested the visitors, but it was the perennially excellent O’Kelly Lynch who continued her personal assault on the Arklow defence, this time running from inside her own 22 to touch down beneath the posts.
With Trinity leading 24-0, the visitors must have sensed the game was in danger of turning into a rout and slowly began to play their way back into the game. Having been on the back foot for most of the contest, Arklow now began to make use of their physical dominance as the team repeatedly bashed against the Trinity line. Undeterred by some superb defence from DUFC, fatigue soon began to take hold and Arklow got its reward, bundling over the line for a well-deserved try. Moments later, Arklow added another converted try to narrow the score to 24-12.
With just seven minutes remaining on the clock, the tiring DUFC defence was caught off guard by Arklow, which had numbers out wide. The visitors took full advantage, touching down to bring the game within just five points and ensuring a tense finish.
The closing moments of the game must have seemed like an eternity for the besieged Trinity defence, as the frenzied Arklow attack desperately searched for a potentially game-winning try. However, just as DUFC seemed to be on the verge of an embarrassing second-half collapse, a lack of concentration at the breakdown by the visitors gifted Trinity a penalty, which the team duly kicked from play to ease the pressure and put some much-needed daylight between the sides.
With some heavy early season defeats now firmly in the rear-view, last weekend’s loss to runaway league leaders Balbriggan notwithstanding, DUFC are a side starting to take shape. With the phenomenal Niamh O’Kelly Lynch in attack, they look capable of scoring at any time and are gifted with leaders in the form of Molly Boyne and Kayla Collins.
The side now has an extended break before its next league game against Greystones on December 3rd. However, Trinity next faces competitive action on Wednesday in a mouthwatering derby clash with arch rivals University College Dublin (UCD) in the Students Sports League.
