Letterkenny U18’s made it three wins on the trot with an impressive 60-14 victory away to City of Derry on Saturday last. The game was played in surprisingly good conditions and the wide pitch allowed Letterkenny to move the ball to devastating effect. It did take the visitors twenty minutes to settle into the game at which point they were 14 -0 down courtesy of two very well taken trys from Derry. Both scores capitalised on very poor defending by the Letterkenny back line which came as no surprise as a number of players were playing out of position due to injuries and unavailability.
The trend of man of the match and number eight Peter Scott along with number 10 Matthew Faulkner taking complete control of a game was once again evident on Saturday. Once they got all around them settled into the attacking patterns the scores began to flow. Three unconverted trys before half time courtesy of Eunan Henry, Bailey Loughlin and the aforementioned Scott gave the visitors a slender one point lead which they just about deserved. The pick of the scores was the opening try made by the mercurial Jack McGarvey at 9 when he surprised everyone by going on a blind side break. A swerve and dummy left the line at his mercy but he unselfishly off loaded to Henry.
Letterkenny were a different team in the second half. Their mid field defence was much tighter and the forwards, lead by the impressive Josshua Fulton, were making big inroads through the heart of the Derry defence. This ploy was creating plenty of space out wide which was exploited to the full by Faulkner and Scott. The former scored three trys and created another score for Loughlin and Henry. Fionn McGarvey also sparked into life from full back with a devastation display of counter attacking rugby and was rewarded with two very well taken scores. The pick of the second half scores came from a beautiful cross field kick by Matthew Faulkner which was met at pace by Baily Loughlin to score under the posts.
The most pleasing aspect of this game was how Letterkenny recovered from a very slow start and took complete control of a game where Derry never lay down. It was a very physical encounter but Letterkenny came out on top in all areas. The return to fitness of back row James Sweeney was also a high point of the game. His back row partner James Roulston also had a fine game in his more accustomed number 6 shirt. The entire front row of Ward, Green and Gibson were also dominant with the later completing a game for the first time in two seasons thanks to his much improved fitness. John Fogarty was also industrious in the second row and even found tine to exchange pleasantries with his opposite number. A special mention must go to Connor Cannon who did very well on the wing which is not bad for a tight head prop and also to Ben Scott who whent from playing number 2 last week to filling the number 12 shirt vacated by the injured Carson. New comers Josh Carr and Jack Smeaton also impressed when introduced in the second half.

Team: David Ward ( c), Chriss Green, Stephen Gibson, Josshua Fulton, John Fogarty, James Roulston, James Sweeney, Peter Scott, Jack McGarvey, Matthew Faulkner, Connor Cannon, Ben Scott, Eunan Henry, Biley Loughlin, Fionn McGarvey, Jack Smeaton, Josh Carr.