Sheriff shoots Carrick to victory

It was the proverbial game of two halves, with a strong breeze favouring Coleraine in the first half and Carrick in the second. But Carrick created the better try-scoring opportunities when they had the wind at their backs.

Half-backs Glen Picken and Johnny Sheriff produced a line-kicking performance in the second half that was far superior to anything Coleraine offered in the first session. Although under pressure in the scrum, the Carrick back row of Ross Marsden, Matt Hadden and Curtis Rea kept the home team’s half-backs under pressure and Rea, in particular, put in some storming runs.

Special mention should be made of prop Adam Gibney for his efforts, especially in the first half, but the Carrick effort was probably best epitomised by a thundering hit by centre Jason Wady on his opposite number late in the game which snuffed out a dangerous Coleraine move.

The visitors took the lead with a Johnny Sheriff penalty after 15 minutes. The home side hit back with a penalty goal to level the scores at 3-3 points at half-time.

An early second-half penalty put Coleraine in front before Sheriff responded with a penalty of his own. He then hit the post with a kick before landing another three points

Carrick: A. McKinney; N. Hastings, J. Cullen (c), J. Wady, P. Simpson, J. Sheriff, G. Picken; A. Gibney, N. Hanna, R. Williams, A. Kincaid (C. Rodgers), C. Ferris, M. Hadden, R. Marsden(R. McGonigle), C. Rea.