On Sunday afternoon Ophir Women hosted Lurgan Women in a 1st Round match in the Ulster Women’s Junior Cup at UUJ. Bob Given Photography was there to capture the action.
A strong cool breeze blew diagonally across the pitch, which rapidly became a strong cold wind, bringing with it rain & sleet. The appearance of the sun was a cruel hoax, because there was no heat!
Because of the overhead conditions, handling was at a premium and the game developed into a series of knock on scrums. Despite this both teams tried to play good rugby.
The kits were very similar and the referee asked for an Ophir shirt change after 10 minutes.
The game was played between the ‘22s’ and was forward dominated. Eventually Lurgan managed some territory and possession in the Ophir ‘22′ and from close range Megan Weatherall burrowed over for an unconverted try to give Lurgan a 5-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Ophir responded and had a try disallowed for a knock on, before Shanna Wilson scored from close range on 26 minutes. Molly Dixon nailed the conversion, judging the cross wind perfectly to give a 7 – 5 lead, which they took into halftime.
After halftime, Lurgan failed to take advantage of the wind and found it difficult to break out of their own half. The game largely stagnated between the halfway line and the Lurgan ‘22′.
There was no further scoring and Ophir progress into the next round on a 7 – 5 scoreline. Both teams should be congratulated for coping with awful conditions.
