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U-18 Boys win big cup clash in Sligo
Michael Gallagher16 Feb - 17:32
Fine cup win for U-18 Boys in Sligo
THERE were scenes of Ballina joy in windswept Hamilton Park today when our U18 Boys defeated Sligo 24-15 in the opening round of the cup.
This was a thrilling encounter between two fine teams and it required a fine display from the entire Ballina squad to secure victory.
The boys in green played with the wind in the first half and went into a six-point lead through two penalties from Conor Connolly. Sligo hit back and scored an intercept try under the posts which left them a point clear but Ballina refused to let that concession knock them off course.
Just before the half-time whistle the Mayo boys produced a sweeping move down the right hand side of the pitch. Selfless support play and some excellent passing from Sean Heffernan, Mikey Caden and Dylan Rice led to Billy Ruane going in at the corner and Ballina were 11-7 clear at the break.
However, the visitors would have the difficult task of playing into the wind in the second half and things got even more difficult when Sligo powered into the lead.
The home side got the first score of the second half with a try on the left-hand side of the pitch and added a penalty which was kicked in the difficult conditions.
Ballina needed to play their way back into the game and they did so brilliantly. They drew a line in the sand and some superb performances from the the forwards, including James O’Boyle, Jason Duggan, Oisin McNicholas and Kyle Bowes leading the pack the boys from the Moy began to gain some momentum against the wind.
This growing momentum led to a superb back line move. Billy Ruane took the inside ball from Mikey Caden and powered through a gap. He offloaded to Oisin McNicholas on his shoulder and Oisin scored under the posts.
Ballina were now in the driving seat and with some fine line-out work from Harry Loftus and great passing between Liam Masterson to Conor Connolly created the space for McNicholas to go in under the posts again.
That score sealed the deal and Ballina continued to play out the clock for a fine victory on the road. Well done to all involved.
#ontothenextone .
This was a thrilling encounter between two fine teams and it required a fine display from the entire Ballina squad to secure victory.
The boys in green played with the wind in the first half and went into a six-point lead through two penalties from Conor Connolly. Sligo hit back and scored an intercept try under the posts which left them a point clear but Ballina refused to let that concession knock them off course.
Just before the half-time whistle the Mayo boys produced a sweeping move down the right hand side of the pitch. Selfless support play and some excellent passing from Sean Heffernan, Mikey Caden and Dylan Rice led to Billy Ruane going in at the corner and Ballina were 11-7 clear at the break.
However, the visitors would have the difficult task of playing into the wind in the second half and things got even more difficult when Sligo powered into the lead.
The home side got the first score of the second half with a try on the left-hand side of the pitch and added a penalty which was kicked in the difficult conditions.
Ballina needed to play their way back into the game and they did so brilliantly. They drew a line in the sand and some superb performances from the the forwards, including James O’Boyle, Jason Duggan, Oisin McNicholas and Kyle Bowes leading the pack the boys from the Moy began to gain some momentum against the wind.
This growing momentum led to a superb back line move. Billy Ruane took the inside ball from Mikey Caden and powered through a gap. He offloaded to Oisin McNicholas on his shoulder and Oisin scored under the posts.
Ballina were now in the driving seat and with some fine line-out work from Harry Loftus and great passing between Liam Masterson to Conor Connolly created the space for McNicholas to go in under the posts again.
That score sealed the deal and Ballina continued to play out the clock for a fine victory on the road. Well done to all involved.
#ontothenextone .
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