Dundalk travelled to Navan on Friday night looking to get their season back on track.  Changes in the pack saw Alan Bryne move to the back row with Chris O’Hanlon making his long awaited return ti start in the second row.

Dundalk started off strongly and were rewarded a penalty in the opening minutes on Navan 10 metre line. Full back Gerard Smyth stepped up to kick the long range effort and kicked it over with ease. Dundalk struggled after the restart to build the phases and found themselves defending in their 22. Navan build continuous phases putting the Dundalk defence under serious pressure. The Dundalk defence held out but gave away a penalty for been offside.  The Navan outhalf converted. Dundalk did look dangerous when their back got the ball, but their pack struggled to retain ball. They were punished when they gave away another penalty for not rolling away. Navan missed their effort with a kick at goal. Dundalk got their heads together and began to build some phases. Quick attack saw Dundalk win a penalty. Aidian Reilly kicked to the corner. Dundalk lost the lineout. Navan later intercepted a 50/50 pass when their full back ran from his own 22 and passing to his winger for a try against the run of play. The pass was deemed to have been forward by the Dundalk players but the ref awarded the try. Navan converted giving them a 10-3 lead at the half.

Dundalk were unlucky at the start of the 2nd half when a juggled catch by John Kerr saw him offload to captain David McGee who broke through the Navan defence and found himself in space only for play to be brought back saw the pass was judged forward. Navan tried a chip from the scrum for their winger to chase but Gerard Smyth covered it well. Dundalk struggled in the scrum for the majority of the game but looked dominant in the loose carrying. Dundalk for the majority of the 2nd half played in the Navan half. Countless time Navan defended their line. Dundalk struggled to make that final yard to get the try. Anthony Woods did cross the line at one stage but the ref judged him to have been held up.  For the remaining 20 minutes of the 2 half, Navan played with 14 men with 2 forwards receiving yellow cards. Dundalk know they left a possible win but a certain try on the field. The 3rds travel to Athboy on Saturday and are looking to get a win to restart their season

15 Gerard Smyth

14 Shane Mathews

13 Stephen Clare

12 Mike Doyle

11 Anthony Woods

10 Aidian Reilly

9 Gareth Herr

8 David McGee

7 Thomas Thorntan

6 Alan Bryne

5 Chris O’Hanlon

4 Carl Cunningham

3 Niall Brown

2 David Murphy

1 John Kerr