AIB CUP SEMI-FINAL: Saturday, December 19
BALLYMENA 9 CORK CONSTITUTION 18, Eaton Park
Scorers: Ballymena: Pens: David O’Hara 3
Cork Constitution: Tries: Richie Lane, Gareth Murray; Con: Scott Deasy; Pens: Scott Deasy 2
Ballymena exited the AIB Cup to a ruthlessly efficient Cork Con side on a sodden day at Eaton Park. Ballymena dominated much of the possession and territory but the Munster-men proved why they occupy second place in the All-Ireland League by a display of clinical finishing. In each visit to the Ballymena twenty-two the visitors came away with points which ultimately highlighted the difference between the two teams.
Ballymena started brightly and were very much on the front foot in the opening exchanges. The home side signalled their intent to move the ball early on and their initial pressure resulted in David O’Hara kicking a long-range penalty giving them an early lead. Ballymena continued to push and almost scored they try they warranted for their early dominance. After a beautiful pop-up off the ground from Hooker Ryan Fisher, the home side attacked resulting in Roger McBurney being tackled just short of the Cork Con line.
There were indications however that Cork Con posed a threat on the break with scrum-half Gareth Fisher twice racing back to prevent a Cork Con breakaway try. From a resulting 5 metre scrum the visitors attacked down the blind-side and wing Richard Lane sneaked over for a try in the corner. With their first visit into the Ballymena twenty-two just before half-time, Cork Con had come away with five points, a clinical edge that was sadly lacking from the home side’s play.
For the first time the away side were having a period of pressure which continued in the opening stages of the first half. They were rewarded with another try after an impressive period of play. After several phases, Ed Leamey broke through and offloaded inside to prop Garret Murray who slid over to increase their lead. Scott Deasy added the conversion and suddenly the home side found themselves nine points behind despite dominating possession and territory.
O’Hara and Deasy exchanged penalties before Ballymena rallied and exerted a huge amount of pressure on the Cork Con line. Once again the Ballymena pack were dominant, as they have been all season, at the scrum. Therefore it was no surprise that they chose to scrum instead of taking the points after a series of penalties on the visitor’s line. However they were confronted by a stubborn Cork Con defence and in the end settled for three points with a beautifully judged kick from O’Hara.
Despite their dominance Ballymena struggled to break down the Cork Con defence and after O’Hara missed a relatively simple penalty attempt Cork Con effectively killed the game off in the final ten minutes with long periods of possession. With the ball Cork Con were technically superb, able to go through several phases at relative ease. Deasy added a further three points towards the end to make the remaining minutes comfortable for the Cork men.
Ballymena will be pleased with the amount of possession and territory they obtained during the game but it was ultimately Cork Con’s finishing that made the difference between the two sides. However, Ballymena were not without chances to score and on another day could have found themselves well in front in the opening period of play. No doubt that Cork Con are a quality side but the Ballymena pack proved that they are match for any team in the division, while knowing that they will need to add a ruthless edge to their game to do more than just compete in these big games.
Report: Neil Vallelly
Picture: Owen O’Kane
