Skins lose out to Dromore

Enniskillen 1XV 10
Dromore 1XV 20

Enniskillen 1st XV suffered a 10-20 defeat at home last weekend at the hands of a clinical Dromore side. Dromore have become a force to be reckoned with in the league over the last couple of seasons and, while Skins continued to show some impressive passages of play at times, Dromore successfully exploited any forays into the Skins half and converted the admittedly few opportunities that an often tenacious Enniskillen defence allowed. It must be said some early injuries to key players forced a reshuffle that certainly didn’t help the home side’s composure.
Dromore started well and applied plenty of early pressure, their big forward pack trying to wear down the Skins defence while they also showed they were comfortable to move the ball swiftly through the backs and caught Skins on the outside a few times. This continued pressure forced some indiscipline from a frustrated Enniskillen in an effort to slow the pace of a rampant Dromore and two early penalties had the visitors up by 6 points to nothing, ill discipline proving a factor for Skins yet again.
After 20 minutes an injury to key player James Ferguson at centre forced back rower Jack Harte to move to the back line, putting in a sterling effort in the unfortunate circumstances. A further injury to replacement back rower David Taylor shortly afterwards had Skins seeing out the majority of the game with 4 front rowers on the park but battling well despite the odds.
Dromore continued to move the ball well and slowly wear Skins down with relentless ball retention and possession. Skins defended extremely well in their own half and continued to keep the visitors out with crucial turnovers from the likes of Buchanan and pressure on the lineout from Carleton and Kennedy. Still small errors proved costly and Skins simply spent too much time in their own half, eventually Dromore exploited an overlap to score out wide after continued pressure in the Skins 22’.
There were glimpses of dangerous Enniskillen attacking phases in the first half with the back three of Parke, Keys and Maguire looking threatening and the pack making ground through some flurries of pick and go’s from Warrington and Kelly. The last pass, however, didn’t always go to hand and Dromore were let off the hook on a few occasions to leave Skins trailing 0-13 at half time.
Skins regained some composure in the second half as the visitors seemed to tire slightly despite still retaining a well organised defence. Some good pressure in the Dromore half and ill discipline from the visitors at the ruck gave Nick Finlay the opportunity to get points on the board and bring the scoreline to 13-3.
Skins came straight back into the Dromore half and looked determined to get themselves back in the contest. They gathered plenty of momentum through some rampant mauls to approach the Dromore line and the visitors were penalised for their efforts to slow the Skins ascent. Again, however, when Enniskillen looked set to convert their hard work into points their efforts broke down; their maul being turned over to once again let Dromore off the hook in what seemed like the theme of the day.
Dromore in contrast used their renewed possession to deadly effect, making big yards down the wing before being dragged down by a chasing Skins defence. An under pressure Enniskillen held Dromore out well but continued to give away penalties in an effort to turn the tide and this brought Dromore up the Skins 5 metre line for a line out where they eventually crossed the line after multiple carries.
In the final quarter of the game Skins worked their way back into the Dromore half and again built phases through the forwards. Eventually quick hands from Nick Finlay to Alex Parke then found Angus Keys who scored in the corner, converted to trail 10-20.
Skins tried for one last foray in the final few minutes but Dromore reclaimed possession and quickly kicked to touch to end the contest.
Enniskillen will be frustrated by the result as more clinical play at certain times and fewer small errors could have led to a very different outcome. That being said, Skins’ performances continue to improve and they showed glimpses of excellence against one of the league’s top sides.