Despite much effort and a couple of exciting games the 9th Round of the RSA OCD1 had little impact on the overall D1 Table. In an unusual symmetry the four top teams in the table defeated the four bottom teams with the points distribution for the three Championship contenders being 24/1. Of course the routes to victory were very different. YMCA cruised to an eight-wicket win having bowled Railway out cheaply. Merrion looked to be in trouble as for once their batting failed and only managed 170/8. In the end Terenure were bundled out for a disappointing 78. Third in the league Clontarf had to chase down a sizeable North County total of 275/5. While it took to the final over, the scorecard still reads an eight-wicket victory. So it is no change at the top and one fewer round for Clontarf to catch the leaders. All the main contenders have yet to play each other in the second cycle of matches.
Pembroke perhaps have most reason to be cheered by the weekend results and their 38 run win over The Hills. With five wins already under their belt it would take an extraordinary combination of results to drag them into the relegation zone. They may be too far off the leaders to mount a challenge but with a young side they should be happy with survival and the experience gained.
Although defeat by Merrion was always on the cards, Terenure are running out of time to make a late survival run. With five matches to play, including one against YMCA, they really need to win four to have a realistic chance of survival.
This brings us to the second main battle this year – the three teams looking to avoid the second relegation spot. Railway have only two wins [and are thus currently occupying second last place] but with only 20 points separating the teams there is still all to play for. Bonus points could well have a bearing on the final outcome.
If, reminiscent of time spent circling Heathrow, R9 of D1 kept the teams in a holding pattern before the final descent, the same could not be said of D2. There were three important results, the most significant of which was cork’s win against Malahide in the top-of-the-table clash between the two undefeated teams in the league [Cork has the only NR due to poor weather in May]. With one match in hand, a postponed game against bottom team Pembroke II, Cork are only a single point behind Malahide. The two teams have pretty much sown up the promotion spots [Leinster are next but would have to make up three wins on the leaders] and meet again in the Mardyke on 17th August.
With Pembroke II now pretty much rooted to the bottom of the table following their defeat to Phoenix, attention is now firmly focussed on the second relegation spot. Phoenix are beginning to get their act together and should have the strength in depth to avoid the drop, especially if they can reverse the result of the match they lost to Merrion IIs early in the season. They also have a comfortable lead in bonus points over Merrion. But Merrion’s dramatic win over Balbriggan had given them a life-line. Rush are not out of the woods yet either and their weakened bowling attach [Leinster hit them for 335/3 yesterday in securing a 82 run win] will be worrying. But for the moment they have the double-pointer win against Trinity to give them a cushion over Phoenix and Merrion IIs. There is a gap next weekend and then matches resume on 12th July.
Attention now turns to the RSA Irish Senior Cup where five D1 teams are involved – Pembroke v Merrion, Clontarf v St Johnston and Railway v The Hills.