Tallaght 23
Tries: Raheel Hussain, Alex Sadiku
Conversions: Raheel Hussain 2
Penalties: Rob Hudson 3
CYM 8
Metro League Division 6
Tymon Park
01/03/2025
Tallaght took on CYM in the Metro 6 league in Tymon Park in their last home league game of the season.
The first quarter of the game saw the two teams feeling each other out. Both teams defended well and they both missed long range penalty kicks at goal. Tallaght suffered a blow when out-half Nick McGuinness retired injured after ten minutes. This forced a reshuffle in the backline with Ruairi O’Donoghue moving to outhalf, Alex Sadiku going to centre and Rob Hudson coming on to go on the wing.
After twenty five minutes there was finally a breakthrough. Sadiku and O’Donoghue combined well to release full back Raheel Hussain. Hussain still had a lot of work to do but he beat three defenders to score an excellent try. He converted his own try to make it 7-0 to Tallaght at halftime.
In the second half Tallaght started to dominate possession and after a break by Tony McManus, they earned a penalty in front of the posts. Rob Hudson, playing his first game since breaking his arm earlier in the season, kicked the penalty to make it 10-0 to Tallaght.
CYM hit back from the kick off, earning a penalty of their own to make it 10-3. But strong carries from the likes of Paul Callaghan, Billy O’Hara and Al Sower earned two long range penalties. Hudson converted both of them superbly to make it 16-3 to Tallaght. Tallaght were in the ascendance and a brilliant break by skipper Alex Sadiku saw him score an excellent try under the posts, which Raheel Hussain converted to make it 23-3. The referee somehow found a bewildering 15 minutes of added-on time during which Brian Lacey was yellow carded, Pietro Pagliara suffered a nasty ankle injury and CYM scored a consolation try to make the final score 23-8 to Tallaght.
Coach Adam Nolan was proud of his team after their first win of a difficult season. “We had a feeling this would be our day because we had a full squad out for probably the first time this season. We also worked really hard this week in training and we saw the results of that today. I’m really proud of each and every one of the squad. Every player was excellent and contributed to a great win. Daithí and Mick are our joint men of the match. They’re both lads who turn up every week and quietly work hard to improve their game. We have a three week break now before our final league game away to Marys and then it’s BGF Ravens in the O’Connor cup. Massive thanks to all the friends and family who came out to support us today. It’s great to reward their loyal support with a win.”
Joint man of the match: Daithí Moloney/Mick Corrigan
Tallaght RFC
1. Sean Judd
2. Kevin Quinn
3. Brian Lacey
4. Joe Ivers
5. Daithí Moloney
6. Mick Corrigan
7. Billy O’Hara
8. Alan Sower
9. Daryl Keogh
10. Nick McGuinness
11. Felix McCabe
12. Craig O’Brien
13. Ruairi O’Donoghue
14. Alex Sadiku (Captain)
15. Raheel Hussain
16. Tony McManus
17. Antonio Cunha
18. Alan Moore
19. Colin Morrison
20. Paul Callaghan
21. Rob Hudson
22. Pietro Pagliara
Photos: Mark Luttrell
