CITY OF DERRY U-19s 0 BANBRIDGE U-19s 21
Banbridge maintained their 100% record in the Ulster Under-19 Play-Offs by coming away from City of Derry with a hard-fought win.
Coaches Willie Kirkwood and Marc Eadie were delighted to be able to include Richard Graham in their starting line-up, the flanker having made a return from injury two weeks quicker than had been anticipated.
An Aaron Kennedy penalty after just five minutes settled the visitors after the long journey to the Maiden City. But with just ten minutes played Macauley Little suffered an accidental knock to the head which resulted in his retirement from the action. Kennedy moved from pivot to take Little’s place at out-half and winger Keir Patterson took over at the base of the scrum, with the versatile Kyle McConnell coming onto the wing.
Two minutes later Kennedy doubled his team’s tally with another penalty, after a big hit from flanker Adam Copes had forced Derry to infringe. Bann continued to play the game largely in the opposition half and the pressure forced the concession of another penalty opportunity which Kennedy tucked away for a 0-9 lead.
Just before half-time a lineout 10 metres out gave Bann the chance to set up a driving maul which ended with lock Alan Thompson touching down for the opening try, giving Bann a 14 point cushion at the break.
Scoring opportunities were limited in the second half with the home side battling hard but ultimately unsuccessfully to get back into the game. With ten minutes remaining centre Ben Cross sealed the win as he used his blistering pace to cut clear of the defence on a 30 metre run to the line, with Kennedy adding the extras.
Copes was a clear winner of the man-of-the-match accolade, thanks to an all-action display which combined strong tackling, good support play and productive work at the breakdown.
Bann have two games left in this series of play-offs to decide the Ulster champions. Ballymena are visitors to Rifle Park this Saturday with Instonians also travelling two weeks later. The coaches and players know that they can’t afford any slip-ups with Portadown hot on their heels. Little’s injury is likely to rule him out of both games but Bann showed on Saturday that there is a depth to their squad which allows them to deal with such setbacks.
Their fate is in their own hands and with a place as Ulster representatives in the All-Ireland semi-finals beckoning, they’ll be working hard to achieve that goal.
