Gallant effort by Greens but Corinthians prove too strong
Ballina take a lineout during last Sunday's Curley Cup encounter with Corinthians at Heffernan Park.
Ballina’s second XV faced Galway Corinthians in Heffernan Park on Sunday in a well-contested Curley Cup encounter. Corinthians started strongly, aided by a couple of missed tackles in midfield which left Ballina stretched. The Galway men attacked the space and crossed to score which was converted.
A good lineout take by Andrew Ruane off a throw from livewire hooker, Jack Murphy, saw Ruane and Gerry McKenna drive on to make good ground for Ballina, almost crossing the line. However, a stray Ballina pass was intercepted by Corinthians to break out of defence. A quickly tapped penalty off a lineout offence caught Ballina off guard and Corinthians scored another try for 12-0.
Conor Connolly, who had been orchestrating affairs for Ballina was the victim of a late tackle and went off injured. Mr Versatility, Michael Collins stepped into out-half with a sense of aplomb. His neat kick to the corner was almost finished off by Keith Jacob and Jordan Keighley but unfortunately the Corinthians defence stood firm.
A good break by the fleet-of-foot Jason O’Brien, after a turnover by the impressive Jason Duggan, released Liam Masterson on the right wing who sprinted out of defence, running almost the length of the pitch, evading four would-be tacklers to score for Ballina. Collins was unfortunate to strike the post with his conversion attempt.
Joe Sweeney was introduced after 35 minutes to reinvigorate the Ballina pack, making an immediate impact with a thunderous burst out of his own half, but Corinthians still led 12-5 at half-time.
A volleyed return of kick-off by Owen Power, with precision worthy of a Ballon d’Or, put Ballina into a good field position. Ballina made numerous assaults on the Corinthians line, with Brian Boland and Patrick Hogan to the fore, driving Corinthians back. Some poor decision making deprived Ballina of scoring opportunities with the extra man overlooked at key moments.
Missed tackles in midfield allowed Corinthians in for a score as they capitalised on Ballina’s errors.
Danny Donegan made a tremendous tackle when he joined the fray but the referee adjudged it high so he promptly departed again on a yellow card.
Corinthians squeezed in at the corner for a score. The conversion fell short and the guests led 22-5.
Neil Molloy was a constant thorn in the side of Corinthians, attacking at will, taking quick penalties, turning the Corinthian tide. A great lineout take by the soaring Leo Hogan was carried on by Ruane, Jason Duggan and Chris Walsh before young Andy Rowe showed tremendous skill and guile to ghost through the Corinthians defence to score. Collins added the conversion to close the gap to 22-12. Ballina seemed to be making a comeback with repeated attacks through the Hogan brothers and Gerry McKenna. Unfortunately Corinthians broke out late in the game to score another converted try to leave seventeen points between them at full-time.
