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DUNGANNON’S 24-21 home victory over Banbridge at Stevenson Park on Saturday, coupled with Shannon’s defeat to Galway Corinthians, means Jonny Gillespie’s side have opened up a five point cushion over their third-placed rivals.
That gap may come in handy this coming weekend, however, as top plays second when Dungannon visit runaway league leaders, MU Barnhall, who won their 12th game in a row with a late score at Ballymena on Saturday past.
But if Dungannon can continue to produce the sort of mentally strong performances they have throughout this season, when they have already surpassed their aspirations for a first campaign back in 2A, then they will be more than in with a chance of returning from County Kildare with something.
Against Banbridge on Saturday, they again had to dig deep to see off their Ulster rivals in what could have been a much more comfortable day at the office, had they taken their chances.
After Robert Lyttle missed a sixth minute penalty for the visitors, Dungannon took the lead through a James McMahon try, converted by Toby Gribben. Banbridge responded with an Alex Thompson score before Gribben and Nathan Hook exchanged penalties and James McCammon added a second try to Dungannon’s tally. When Gribben knocked over the extras, Gillespie’s men led 17-8 at the break.
After the restart, Alex Weir was sent to the bin, giving Dungannon a numerical advantage, and while they were unable to capitalise on that, with Lyttle knocking over a penalty for Banbridge, they did extend their lead when Gribben converted Adam Milligan’s score.
But the visitors weren’t about to give up and they narrowed the gap with a converted try 11 minutes from time.
“They scored quite late on to make it feel a wee bit more uncomfortable than it maybe was, so we’re a little bit more satisfied with the performance this week than last week but we’re still a wee bit off,” Gillespie observed.
“We got held up a couple of times and if we’d finished one or two of those off it would have been a bit more comfortable in terms of a bonus point, but Banbridge still have a good pack. I know they were down a few, but they still have a good side and they have more experience than us at this level, so eight points from the last two games is good because training has been disrupted and we’re only really starting to get boys back [after Christmas].
“I’m content without being delighted.”
Having lost to Ballymena before narrowly defeating Old Crescent and then Banbridge, Gillespie knows his side aren’t performing in top gear at present, which is why he feels he and his coaching team might have to change their approach over coming weeks.
“I said over the first three years [of my tenure] it was about getting better and I suppose, I think we need to go back to that mindset,” he explained. “It’s difficult when you find yourself second and a wee bit distant from top and out of any relegation battle, having exceeded your season’s expectations. You have got to refocus where you want to go and I think, as coaches, maybe we have to go back to that message of getting a little bit better every week because we have had to work through a sticky patch of performances but we’ll get there.
“We’re there or there abouts in every game, we just need to keep the boys fresh, get through Barnhall and then give them a week or two off.
“The character thing is pleasing and it’s a nice trait to have. I just wish we were technically and tactically better so we could be home and hosed with 10 minutes to go.”
