Has there ever been a Division Three campaign like it? Just six points separate the top five clubs; indeed only eight points separate first from sixth in section B after Sunday’s round of fixtures.
Waterford City, surely now dependant on other teams picking each other off if they’re to have any chance of a top two finish, saw off Dungarvan 25-13.
Tries from Sean O’Mahony and John Doran, along with five penalties from the ever reliable Aaron Foskin steered City to their fifth win of the campaign.
Dungarvan, whose resurgent form hasn’t been recognised in terms of points gained, scored two tries of their own through Joey Lawlor and Sean O’Mahony, with Michael Irwin adding a penalty.
While not in control of their destiny either, Carrick-on-Suir still have a decent shot at a top two placing following a 23-17 win over basement side Shandon, who outscored the hosts 3-2 on the try count.
James Wallace and John O’Keeffe grabbed the all-important touchdowns for the Tybroughney men, with the accurate Michael Cronin converting both and landing three penalties.
Before the match, given Shandon’s form leading into that game, Carrick would surely have harboured ambitions of a bonus point. As it was, it was the Corkmen who registered the only ‘BP’ of the day by virtue of their six-point losing margin.
Indeed, Carrick’s solitary bonus point, the poorest record in the division, may yet come back to haunt them.
At the top, Mallow and Charleville are tied on 31 points apiece at the summit after Mallow won the North Cork derby 14-11.
Fermoy remain third thanks to a 10-6 win over Douglas, the latter’s promotion ambitions now hanging by a thread after their fourth reversal of the campaign.
The next round of fixtures will be played on February 21st. Carrick travel to Fermoy for what should prove a belter while City travel to Douglas, where defeat for either will surely end their promotion hopes.
Dungarvan face the daunting trip to Charleville, but the stubbornness demonstrated in recent outings means the Ballyrandle men will not travel to Cork without hope.
Given the ding dong nature of results to date, it looks increasingly likely that the race for Division Two will remain in the balance until the final day of the ‘regular’ season.