City of Derry Ladies toppled the league champions Enniskillen. Enniskillen were unbeaten in the league last year so Derry knew they had to be on their game.
CoD 31- 13 Enniskillen
From the first kick off Captain Jamie love gathered and ran straight at Enniskillen, Jamie made good ground before some poor handling gave the ball straight back to Enniskillen.
Derry buoyant and confident made their intentions clear when a solid scrum and good line out possession allowed Derry good attacking opportunities.
It wasn’t long before Rugain Doherty flew across the line after some terrific handling for her first score.
Good pressure and strong defensive work keep Enniskillen pegged back, and with Enniskillen pressing Ciara Mc Gurk intercepted a midfield pass and sprinted in to give Derry a comfortable lead.
Ciara Moore duly slotted over to leave Derry 14 – 0.
League champions Enniskillen were not for lying down and some poor tackling by Derry allowed Enniskillen to slot over a Penalty. Derry were by far the hungrier team, they attacked at every opportunity and with fast passing they were quickly pressurising the Enniskillen line, Ciara Mc Gurk dainty chip was just perfect for Aoifie Curran to latch on and score in the corner.
As the half was approaching again Derry’s slick passing and attacking mentality saw Rugain Doherty again the recipient of some super passing and excellent team play that led to the bonus point try just before half time, Derry made a significant number of changes in the second half and introduced two debutants, Tori Tracey and Aoife O’Hagan.
This is easy to do with such experienced and formidable players around such as Julie Pollock who was a constant battler and the ever present Coral Lapsley who tackled immensely all day snuffing out attack after attack.
The significant changes to personnel and positions presented Enniskillen with opportunities to exploit. And that is exactly what they did, Noreen Nethercott who was by far Enniskillens best player, used all her experience to get over for a score, then not long later Rebecca Pennell barged over to leave the score 24-13.
Derry never looked in danger but the day belonged to the returning mum Kelly Holmes. Two months after giving birth to her son she entered the fray to show all her class. Vanessa Murphy again impressed with a storming run presented quick Ball for scrum half Meabh O’Neill to quickly fed Kelly who stepped inside to score under the posts. Again Ciara Moore slotted over the conversion.
Overall this was a solid performance and work to become even better continues every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 pm at Judges Road, with numbers at training increasing and with a full squad to select then Derry look like they could have some serious competition for places. Final score of 31 – 13 puts Derry at the league summit and remain the only unbeaten team. Derry Ladies have no game next week but return to action away to Malone and Ballynahinch with their next home game being on the 6th November.