A severely depleted Ballina squad gave a great account of themselves against a strong Creggs side at a windy Heffernan Park on Sunday in their third round U-17 Cup group game. The guests enjoyed a 48-19 victory, but the Ballina boys deserve huge credit for their character, application and effort.

Already missing a number of squad members through injury, the home side were dealt a further blow with the late withdrawal of two of the starting 15 with injuries, meaning a reshuffle in the line-up as the last 15 boys standing took to the field.

Despite the setbacks the Ballina Boys played very well throughout and scored three excellent tries through Conor Murphy, Alex Mescal and Jake Carr. James Fox, returning from long-term injury, played his first game of the season and executed many excellent kicks throughout the afternoon, including two conversions.

The visitors had strong back line runners and were mobile across the phase play, which led to them running in eight tries over the afternoon, as the home side tired into the second half.

The scoreline was a little harsh on the Moysiders, who continued to be very competitive up to the final whistle, despite playing the game with 14 players for the final 12 minutes due to injury.

Well done to all the players from both sides who served up an excellent game played in the best sporting manner, for the sizeable crowd.

With all three clubs in the Group still in contention for advancement to the Cup or Plate semi-finals, depending on the final group table, we will wait to see what awaits us in the next round.