Sport

Humphreys wins duel

Cork Constitution's unbeaten run came to a halt in the unlikely setting of Stevenson Park, but the Tyrone men fully deserved …

Mon Mar 26 2001 - 01:00

Cork Constitution's unbeaten run came to a halt in the unlikely setting of Stevenson Park, but the Tyrone men fully deserved their morale-boosting victory.

Paddy Johns took over the captaincy from the retired Allen Clarke, and proved he still has much to offer with an inspirational performance. And international winger Tyrone Howe marked his first league appearance of the season with the decisive try, chipping ahead to score 15 minutes into the second half.

Ronan O'Gara had a kicking return of four from six, compared to six from 10 from his international colleague David Humphreys.

The opening half-hour developed into a kicking duel between the two outhalves, Humphreys hitting three Dungannon penalties and O'Gara steering over two long-range efforts.

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Neither side offered their fans much to cheer about during that period, but Cork Constitution suddenly seized the initiative in the 30th minute when O'Gara sent full back Brian Walsh in for a try.

But their half-time lead was a fragile 13-12, after Humphreys had landed a long-distance kick.

And when Howe stole a march on the Cork defence by drifting inside to grab an opportunist try, Dungannon regained the lead.

There was a distinct lack of width about Cork's attacking efforts in a frantic final 15 minutes, and all they could manage was another O'Gara penalty.

Scoring sequence: 13 mins: O'Gara pen, 0-3; 18: Humphreys pen 3-3; 20: Humphreys pen, 6-3; 22: O'Gara pen 6-6; 27: Humphreys pen 9-6; 30: Walsh try, O'Gara conv, 13-9; 32: Humphreys pen, 12-13; 55: Howe try, Humphreys conv, 19-13; 63: O'Gara pen, 19-16; 74: Humphreys pen, 22-16.

DUNGANNON: B Cunningham; J Cunningham, R Constable, J Bell, T Howe; D Humphreys, S Bell; J Fitzpatrick, N Brady, G Leslie, P Johns, A Kearney, A Boyd, A Hughes, T McWhirter. Replacements: R Mackey for Leslie, M Haslett for Hughes.

CORK CON: B Walsh; N Kenneally, C Mahony, J Kelly, D Dillon; R O'Gara, B O'Meara; I Murray, F Sheehan, J O'Driscoll, D O'Callaghan, K Murphy, C Taylor, J Murray, U O'Callaghan. Replacement: R O'Donovan for Kinneally.

Referee: A Rolland (Leinster)