| 26th October 2006 - By Dave Christian | |
| VIKINGS THROUGH TO MANX CUP SEMI FINAL | |
|
|
|
In the other Manx Cup tie, Western Vikings ran out 20-15 winners in a thriller against Castletown at Poulsom Park.
Town took the lead after just three minutes. Vikings were unable to deal with the kick off and found themselves pinned deep in their own half. The Town forwards turned the ball over at a ruck and number 8 Andy Birchall scooted down the narrow side unopposed to put the home side 5-0 up. Vikings attempted to hit back straight away but the closest they got in the remaining 37 minutes of the half was when Mark Venables broke the whitewash but was held up. In a game where the shortage of skill levels was more than compensated by both side’s commitment, Town started the second half clinging onto their slender advantage. Vikings however had obviously had the better team talk and they restarted the fresher looking of the two. Mark Venables finally got the scoreboard moving westwards with a 52nd minute penalty after Town were caught offside in front of their own posts. Two minutes later, Vikings took the lead. Aaron Curphey’s trademark charge was halted in the Town midfield but quick ruck ball followed and replacement centre George Gadsby’s pass allowed Paul Moffatt to pick a line through the down backs for a well finished try and an 8-5 lead. Town then his back on the hour. As they piled forwards it was Vikings turn to fall foul of referee Daryn Thompson for a hand in a ruck. Ed Palmer nailed the kick to make the scores level at 8 apiece. In real cup tie style though Vikings retaliated. James Wren’s up and under had the Town defence at sixes and sevens and as the Peel mens pack poured postwards, Wren scooped the ball from the ruck and dived home from close range. Gadsby converted and gave Vikings the lead again at 15-7. It certainly wasn’t all over by then though. With just 5 minutes left on the watch Town equalised. A Vikings clearance kick was sliced straight into the arms of Town wing Barry Lawson who skipped down his flank evading two tackles to touch down. Ed Palmer converted to level the score at 15 all and cause a ripple of movement on the touchline as everyone speculated how a drawn match would be settled. Luckily for Vikings, the possibility of a draw was not considered by the players on the pitch. From the restart, James Wren secured turnover ball and fed George Gadsby who bulldozed his way through some poor tackling and galloped home to seal the match for Vikings and set them up for a 10 February semi final against Vagabonds. If the man of the match award could go to a referee, it would surely be destined for Daryn Thompson who controlled the game intelligently. Playerwise though it would have to go to Vikings James Wren with Town’s Steve Fox-Hulme snapping at his heels. Castletown 15 Tries: Andy Birchall, Barry Lawson. Cons: Ed Palmer. Pens: Ed Palmer. Western Vikings 20 Tries: Paul Moffatt, James Wren, George Gadsby. Cons: George Gadsby. Pens: Mark Venables. |
| CONTACT US |
| OUR COMMITTEE |
| ONLINE SHOP |
| KNOCKALOE |
| LINKS |
| MANX RUGBY |
| NATIONAL RUGBY |
| INTERNATIONAL RUGBY |
| PORN MONKEY |
| SEARCH THE WEB |
| RUGBY STORE |
| SPONSOR |
 |