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Brave effort from U18 Girls

Brave effort from U18 Girls

Michael Gallagher18 Feb 2019 - 19:28
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Never-say-die attitude

BALLINA 14-33 WESTPORT

Report by Laura Carroll
Ballina Under 18 girls lined out against a strong Westport side in the semi-final of the cup last Saturday, knowing a win would book them a place in the Sportsgrounds for the final in March. However, it wasn’t meant to be for the home side, who put in an immense performance but came up short at the final whistle.

Westport were first to put points on the board, going 0-7 up after a well-worked backs move left the Ballina defence wide open. Refusing to be discouraged, the girls fought to get a foothold in the game from the restart, helped hugely by the commanding centre pairing of Hannah Johnston and Lauren Tuffy. Both Hannah and Lauren were vital cogs in the Ballina back line, gaining metres with every carry and shutting down the Westport attackers in defence.

Both sides wrestled for the upper hand for most of the first half, camped between both 22s. With captain Lindsay Golden pulling the strings at scrum half, the home side maintained possession helped by carries from forwards Emma Walsh, Rachel Beale and Aoife Doherty. The Westport defence held strong, giving wingers Lauren Fitzgerald and Shona Crean little room to work with. Ballina’s best chance of the half came after a brilliant steal by full back Nina McVann, who then sent second row Laura off down the touchline. A last ditch tackle brought Laura down metres from the try line, and Ballina were penalised for not releasing. Westport then managed to extend their lead with two more tries before half time, leaving Ballina 21 points down.

Ballina started the second half determined to be the first to score, and their determination paid off when they were rewarded a penalty try. Strong carries from Aoife and Aodhamair McDermott sucked in the Westport defenders, allowing out-half Maddie Mahony to pass along the back line to Nina McVann. Nina carved open the Westport defence, and was tackled high just short of the try line, earning Ballina their first points of the match.

Their points were soon cancelled out when Westport crossed the whitewash for a fourth time following a scrum on the five metre line. Ballina stepped up their defensive effort from the restart, with tackles from Molly Kilkullen, Hannah and Aodhamair keeping the visitors behind the 22. However the Westport attack managed to find a gap, and despite a try saving tackle from Nina, Westport added another five points to their tally- now 7-33.

It was Ballina who had the final say in the match, thanks to quick hands from Lauren Fitzgerald, Hannah and Lauren Tuffy freeing up space for Nina on the wing. Nina sidestepped her way around the Westport defence to dot down, and the conversion was expertly slotted over by Rachel Beale, leaving the final score 14-33 to Westport.

Although the result wasn’t in their favour, Ballina certainly had a lot of positives to take away from the match. The talented squad now turn their attention to a Plate final in March, and will no doubt be encouraged by their promising performance today.

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