Carlow show signs of improvement despite third straight defeat
Carlow players celebrate as Evan Gordon touches down for a try in the second half.
Carlow suffered their third straight defeat of the season on Saturday evening at Oak Park, coming up short against table-toppers De La Salle Palmerstown.
Tom Crotty's side came into the game on the back of a surprise home defeat to Gorey in Round 1 followed by a second loss away to Mullingar - both times losing by over 20 points.
De La Salle were at the opposite end of the spectrum, having begun their season with a comprehensive victory at home to Mullingar before a hard-fought win away to Kilkenny last time out.
Carlow were on a par with their Dublin opponents throughout the first half, but De La Salle, despite two late yellow cards, had too much for their hosts and pulled away in the second half.
The kick-off not going ten metres was an ominous start for Carlow, but they quickly turned the tide in their favour with three impressive turnover penalties in their own half.
They repeatedly kicked for touch and gradually worked their way into the De La Salle 22, going to the corner and setting up a driving maul of the lineout. The pack inched their way to the line before scrum half Noah Cope went wide to Ben Deacon, who danced over in the corner for a try in the 11th minute.
De La Salle turned the tables right from the restart, however. It was their turn to kick to the corner, with the pack mauling all the way in field before captain, Theo Kelly forced the ball down for a try. Will Saunders added the conversion to give the visitors the lead after quarter of an hour.
The game was being played a relentless pace, with Carlow getting back into the De La Salle 22 almost immediately, only to be turned over just short of the line.
John Kenny broke free in midfield and looked like he might go all the way, only for Carlow full back, Luke Chatten to make the crucial intervention, with the force of the tackle causing both players to leave the field injured.
De La Salle remained on top and moved deep into the Carlow 22 with some brilliant handling in very close quarters. The hosts managed to turn the ball over close to the line before clearing to halfway, but De La Salle were on the march again moments later as a second try looked inevitable.
The Carlow defence was incredibly resilient, however, and turned the ball over again before forcing the play back inside the De La Salle half. A scrum penalty gave Ben Crotty a shot at the posts, but his 40-metre kick had neither the distance nor the accuracy to trouble the scoreboard.
That left De La Salle 7-5 in front at half time.
Carlow were under enormous pressure after the restart, with the visitors going coast to coast and back again before a delightful grubber kick from Harry McHensey released Johnny Maiava, who stormed through and dived on the ball to get the downward pressure needed for a second try for the Dubliners ten minutes into the second half.
The hosts had a chance to hit back straight away, but they twice fluffed their lines to give De La Salle a lucky reprieve. From there, the visitors turned the ball over, broke away and sent Maiava racing clear through again for try number three.
Saunders missed both second-half conversions, but he soon knocked over a penalty as Carlow found themselves 15 points adrift approaching the final quarter.
Tom Crotty's men hit back well, kicking to the corner and sending a driving maul towards the line, where hooker, Evan Gordon was able to burrow over for a try, with referee Clive Wardrop flashing a yellow card at Cam Stewart in the process.
Ben Crotty this time nailed his kick, cutting the gap to eight points.
But Carlow will be incredibly disappointed with how they reacted to that try, allowing the 14 men of De La Salle to break free before Senan Phelan found the gap and burst through for the bonus-point try in the corner. Saunders added the extras and all of Carlow's good work had been undone.
The hosts threw everything they had at De La Salle in an effort to salvage a bonus point. A tap penalty brought play up to the try line, only for captain, Johnny Murphy to be held up over the line.
Carlow kept pushing and forced another sin bin, with Andrew Sweeney shown a yellow towards the end. The hosts opted for the scrum this time and went through the phases before a powerful drive from Paddy Rogers saw him crash over for a try. Crotty's conversion came back off the upright to bring the game to an end, although it would have made no difference to the final outcome.
Carlow are back in league action next week, still in search of their first win of the season, when they welcome neighbours, Wexford Wanderers to Oak Park.
B Deacon, E Gordon and P Rogers (1 try each), B Crotty (1 con).
J Maiava (2 tries), T Kelly and S Phelan (1 try each), W Saunders (1 pen, 2 cons).
Luke Chatten; Ben Crotty, Sean Raftry, Alan Owens, Ben Deacon; Robbie Coleman, Noah Cope; Paddy Rogers, Evan Gordon, Tadhg Ronan; John Lyons, Owen Edghill; Cormac McElligott, Rhys Edghill, Johnny Murphy.
Scott Neale, Neil Slater, Anthony Kelly, Eoin Pender, Aaron Gordon.
Cian Harrington; Harry McHensey, Johnny Maiava, Will Saunders, Eoin Brennan; Niall Butler, Chase Suznevic; Ronan Merriman, Kevin O'Neill, John McDonald; Leon Troy, Theo Kelly; John Kenny, Aaron Murphy, Mark Hogan.
Ryan Fitzgerald, Can Stewart, Andrew Sweeney, Adam McEvoy, Senan Phelan.
Clive Wardrop.
