Redskins roar back to beat Bulldogs

Editorial Department • Published 26 May 2010 17:17 0 Comments

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Rugby league action at Mullaghmeen as the Fermanagh Redskins returned to winning ways against the Belfast Bulldogs.

Fermanagh Redskins 48; Belfast Bulldogs 24;

After last weekend's loss the Fermanagh Redskins got back to winning ways by beating the Belfast Bulldogs 48-24 at Mullaghmeen on Saturday.

Indeed, It was an important win as the top two teams in the league will have home advantage in the semi-final play-off matches at the end of June. This win now leaves it in the Redskins' hands as they are in second place with the final match to come on June 12, away to the Strangford Sharks.

The Bulldogs team were the bigger side and again a big effort was going to be required in defence, also they were more experienced as they have been playing for a number of years and were beaten finalists last year.

The Bulldogs kicked off and true to last week's form the Redskins managed to give possession straight back to the Bulldogs, who then were in good attacking position. The defence held firm but numerous mistakes were made when possession was eventually gained back.

Despite all the early pressure, it was the Redskins who took the lead with a converted try. Again from the kick off, Redskins lost possession and Belfast attacked and got back into the game with a score that was unconverted.

The Redskins were still struggling to hold on to possession but were able to create three further scores either side of the water break. Leading up to half time Redskins were guilty of giving away too many penalties for offside, and the Bulldogs took full advantage to score three tries of their own to leave the half-time score at 24-16 to the Redskins.

First score in the second half came from the Bulldogs and this seemed to waken up the Redskins, who then started to play hard running, aggressive rugby league.

The Redskins went on to score a further five tries, to take the game away from the Bulldogs. The final score finished 48-24 to the Fermanagh boys although, if the Bulldogs had a kicker, the score would have been a lot closer and the result could have been different.

The positives from the match were the very few missed tackles, the way the backs attacked and the subs that were available to give the forwards a break. The negatives were the number of dropped passes and knock ons, the amount of penalties given away and most importantly the team only got to the fifth tackle once and then did not get the kick away which is the only way to build any sort of pressure of opposition teams.

Coach Robert Watson thanked the big crowd who came out to watch and lend their support, all of whom very much enjoyed this version of rugby. He also thanked the players, who come from far and wide, for putting on such great entertainment.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 27 May 10

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