It was a perfect evening for running rugby and both teams did their level best to entertain the vocal support that turned up at Ravenhill. There were four tries, four yellow cards and one red card in an action packed final worthy of the occasion. The Hinch dominated the early exchanges and kept the Armagh men on the back foot for long periods.
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In the 10th minute Hinch centre David Harris made a great break into the Armagh 22 feeding outside to James McCall. McCall did well to draw in the Armagh defence before putting David Nicholson into space the Hinch centre crossing the line in right hand corner. James McBriar failed to convert leaving the Hinch with a 5-point lead.
Armagh had a couple of chances to kick at goal but opted to hit the corner to set up a catch and drive. The Hinch defence held firm and the finally managed to relieve the pressure when John Gunson turned over the ball.
The Hinch bagged a second try in 21st minute, it started with a great surging run by second row Jonny Madden. The attack was carried on by John Gunson then hooker Andrew Harper smashed his was clear on the 22 and sprinted in to dot down behind the posts. James McBriar added the extras taking the Hinch 12-0 clear.
McBriar added a third try to the Hinch tally in 28th minute when he cut through the Armagh midfield to sprint clear under the posts. He then converted his try to put the Hinch 19 points in front.
At the end of the first half Armagh started to put the Hinch under pressure and winger Mark McCormick was yellow carded for persistent infringing. Jonny Steenson converted the penalty to leave Armagh trailing at the interval 19-3.
The Hinch made the worst possible start to the second half losing another player to the sin bin. This time Davy Harris was the guilty party for not releasing in the tackle in the 42nd minute.
The Hinch defended with real purpose for the next 8 minutes and managed to keep Armagh out, however when Colin Atkinson counter attacked in his 22 he put his centre partner Andy Holmes in space. He made good ground down the right wing in the 61st minute sending Andy Willis clear to run in at the corner for a well worked try. Steenson converted from the touchline to bring the Armagh men back into the contest at 19-10.
The Hinch battled hard in the last 15 minutes. Armagh were reduced to 14 men when centre Andy Holmes deliberately knocked the ball on as Hinch were attacking wide. McBriar converted the penalty goal to take them22-10 clear.
The game ended with David Harris getting a second yellow card for a high tackle and he was subsequently sent off, but the Hinch did enough to hang on in the final couple of minutes to secure a famous victory for the County Down Men.
A disappointing end for Davy Harris, but he had no complaints, his tackle was high and a second yellow card is an automatic red. He will now miss the Towns Cup final on Monday.
The first hurdle cleared the focus is now on Clogher Valley this Monday at 2.30pm. The team would appreciate as much support as possible.
