Mullingar 3 North Kildare 10 

 Mullingar concede top spot after agonising defeat to North Kildare 
 By Finian Coghlan

On the tiniest things can a season turn, and so it unfolded in front of
Mullingar’s biggest crowd in years on Sunday when the home side knocked on
two stone cold tries on the line and conceded leadership of the division to
their main rivals North Kildare.
From early in the season it was obvious this was always going to be the
game on which the season hung, and Mullingar were dealt a hammer blow at
training on Friday evening when the outstanding Alan Brabazon was forced to
join his centre partner Eoghan Gantly in the hamstring ward.
However, though the depth in the first team squad meant this hole was
barely noticeable, it still gave the slightest of advantages to the
visitors in what was going to be the tightest of games.
As in the first game the North Kildare pack exercised early supremacy which
led to their opening penalty on 12 minutes. 
Shortly after, Ryan Tighe became the first of the casualties in this
bruising encounter, but this gave us a chance to see the latest flying
ginger on the wing Ronan Wallace, but with his pack living on scraps his
opportunities were going to be limited.
This cosh got greater on 17 minutes when the considerable frame of captain
Darryl Quinn was sin-binned for a ruck infraction deep in his own 22. 
Smelling blood North Kildare went to the corner, and though they knocked on
in the line-out, Mullingar were bullied off the 5-metre scrum and conceded
their first penalty try of the season to go 10-0 down.
Though no panic set in, Mullingar just couldn’t get a foothold in the game
as their 10 ruled the roost and kept them well away from danger areas.
Unsurprisingly, the return of Quinn saw Mullingar get a bit of territory
which Samuel Blair took advantage of, winning Mullingar’s first kickable
penalty which Butler slotted for what would transpire to be the last score
of the game.
With six minutes left in the half, Butler, Andrew Coade, and Wallace
conspired to open up a first meaningful gallop deep into the Kildare 22,
but held on in the tackle to concede the clearing penalty.
Undeterred, they worked their way back into the 22 in the last minute of
the half to win a second scorable opportunity, however, Butler was
uncharacteristically wide, and this saw them to the break just the seven
points down.
Maybury scattered a bit of his pixie dust for the first time of the season,
and Mullingar came back out with some fire.
Wallace got an early burn up the right and won a penalty which Butler put
to the corner.
Mullingar laid siege and Matt Coade saw his chance from five metres out,
and went for what was a carbon copy of the dummy-and-dance match-saving try
he got in the last minute on their patch.
However, one grasping paw was enough, and he knocked it on over just on the
line.
The game now to and froed as each team sought the killer blow, but it truly
was an afternoon of defences and both lines remained intact.
Then, in the 26th minute, Matt Coade took a big hit to launch a grubber up
Wallace’s wing and Mullingar were finally back in the Kildare 22. From the
line-out Mullingar threw the kitchen sink at the Kildare line with Mill,
Pyke and Blair all having cuts at, but to no avail. 
Kildare then nearly settled it when their 10 intercepted a Reilly pass in
his own 22, only for the pace of Matt Coade dragged him to earth 80 metres
further up the park.
Deep in injury time Mullingar threw a last onslaught at the Kildare line,
with the advantage of an extra man after they had a lock yellow carded.
Piling on, Blair had his second bit at the cherry from his favourite
distance, and it looked like he had biffed over for the rescue score, only
for the ref to adjudge he also knocked on inches out.
Moments later there was a new team at the summit of Leinster Division 2A.
Pen: Butler 
Team: 1. Darren Brady, 2. Davy O’Reilly , 3 Ciaran O'Donoghue, 4. Ritchie
Pyke, 5. Darryl Quinn , 6. Paul Maxwell, 7. Cormac Dunne , 8. Samuel Blair,
9. Arthur Brabazon, 10. Matt Coade, 11. Ryan Tighe, 12. Conor Jack, 13.
Henry Reilly, 14. Andrew Coade, 15. Johnny Butler. Subs used: Ronan
Wallace, Jamie Taaffe, Niall Hannon , Nigel Mills, Diarmuid Raleigh.