Semi final loss for Banbridge U19s

Bann U19s 15

BANBRIDGE U19s’ cup run came to an abrupt end on Saturday when they were beaten 20-15 by a strong Ballynahinch side at the final hurdle on the road to Ravenhill.

Ballynahinch went into a 3-0 lead after 10 minutes due to a lack of discipline in front of the posts. Bann were indeed fortunate as the ‘Hinch kicker had already missed two penalties from kickable areas.

But within 10 minutes Mark Doherty had brought Bann level with a penalty of his own. It looked like the half would finish all square, but right on the whistle ‘Hinch broke clear and scored a converted try to leave the half-time score 10-3.

Although at this stage the win was within Bann’s grasp it looked beyond them 10 minutes into the second half after two unconverted tries had put Ballynahinch 20-3 ahead.

But this Bann side never knows when to quit and within 15 minutes prop Josh Neilly had crashed over the line to reduce the gap. Bann were indeed lucky to have the big prop in their ranks as his flight home from Scotland had been cancelled due to the volcano in Iceland. But this did not deter him and he jumped on six trains, a bus and a boat to help out his team mates.

His team battled on for the next ten minutes creating three try-scoring opportunities. Eventually winger Stewart Walker dived over the line in the final minute to score his team’s second try. Doherty added the conversion and the final whistle was blown.

The disappointment was there to see on the faces of the young team as they had wished to return to Ravenhill for a second year in a row. Coaches Kirkwood, Eadie and Forsythe couldn’t have asked for anymore in the second half but a lacklustre start to the game had made this an uphill struggle.

Interest in the cup may be at an end but the league is still there to be won, with games against Enniskillen and Malone to be played, followed by a memorial game against Coleraine in memory of the late Jimmy Little, a past-President of both clubs.