Creggs Rugby 9 Ballinrobe RFC 14
A powerful first half display by the Ballinrobe pack laid the foundation for victory in Sunday’s absorbing Junior Cup game at The Green, From the kickoff,Creggs were forced to defend as Ballinrobe took an early grip on proceedings. A few half-chances went astray before fullback Peter Cosgrove crashed over for an excellent try in the 12th minute,following a threequarters move which created space for the Ballinrobe captain to touch down in the left corner.
Ballinrobe’s uthalf Oisin Gill dropped a goal shortly afterwards,as Creggs struggled to get into the game . Ger Heneghan landed a penalty in the 32nd minute to get Creggs on the scoreboard,but just before halftime,Gill had an easy kick from under the posts to give Ballinrobe a deserved 11-3 lead at the break.
Following their recent run of impressive results,Creggs were strangely subdued during the first half,but they upped the tempo considerably on the resumption. Early pressure yielded two penalty opportunities which Ger Heneghan kicked to leave just two points between the sides,and the momentum with Creggs . However,the home team failed to capitalise further during this period of ascendancy,and Ballinrobe worked their way back upfield to set up a penalty chance which the impressive Gill goaled from a difficult angle.
Creggs threw everything into attack in the final quarter,but staunch defence by Ballinrobe,allied to some sloppy handling by the home team,meant that scoring opportunities were rare and so the disciplined Mayo men held out for a hard-earned win with Oisin Gill,Dave Madden,Jack Winters and Peter Cosgrove outstanding in defence.
For Creggs,this was a disappointing result as several players failed to reach their normal level of performance,but they showed great spirit in adversity and Ballinrobe were very relieved when the final whistle blew to signify the end of a Cup game which, though intense throughout, was played in a very sporting manner by both sides. Ballinrobe now meet Castlebar away in the next round.
Creggs starting XV : David Brandon, Aidan Geraghty, Kieran Ryan,Tom Callaghan, Barry Egan, Ger Heneghan, Conor Brandon, Tom Fleming, Mattie Corcoran, Paul Mc Neill, Brian Donoghue, Bernard Kilcommons, Niall ORourke, Peter Lohan, Kevin Brandon.Replacements during the game: Kevin Rushe, Chris Duignan, Trevor Nee, Enda Tully, and Declan Nee.