All good things come to those who wait and at 5.23pm on a famous patch of grass in Galway this afternoon, years of heartbreak came to a glorious finale.

The mighty young men who fill the jerseys of the Ballina RFC U18.5 team have experienced cup final heartbreak on a number of occasions in recent years, but this evening they emerged victorious from one of the finest finals ever played in The Sportsground.

The one-point victory will be remembered for a lifetime by all lucky enough to have seen it with their own eyes and it will exist forever in the imagination of those who weren’t there in the flesh.

On the sideline, Mick Moylett, Martin Boland and Kevin Pritchett lived and breathed every single second of this momentous encounter, while up in the stand Alan McCormick and a phalanx of family, friends and followers urged Ballina to glory from pillar to post.

The pace of this thriller was something to behold and never let up at any stage. The skills on view were from the very top drawer and the tactics employed by Ballina were exactly what was required on such a momentous day.

The 10-3 lead Ballina enjoyed at the break certainly didn’t flatter them. Craig McCormick opened the scoring with a well-struck penalty before Eoin Pritchett set hearts aflutter when he got on the end of an attacking move, kicked over the top, evaded a sea of Corinthians defenders and touched down.
McCormick kicked the conversion from wide out on the left and the gap was 10-0.

Corinthians got on the scoreboard just before half-time with a close-range penalty, but Ballina were in control when they went to the dressingroom at the interval.

The Moysiders had chances to extend the lead early in the new half but McCormick was just wide with a long-range penalty before the tremendous Nealon was adjudged to have stepped in touch as he made a wonderful run up the wing and over the try-line.

However, Ballina got back on the scoresheet minutes later when McCormick landed a penalty from distance as Neal Moylett, Brian Boland, Billy McVann, Luke Sweeney, Patrick Howely, the inspirational Niall Keane and their colleagues caught the eye time and time again.

Corinthians knew they had to get a major score to get back in the running and turned down a shot at goal to go for the corner in search of a try. This move paid off handsomely when they got over for a converted score on the left and the gap was down to 13-10 with 12 minutes remaining.

Nervous tension shrouded the large crowd and the next score was going to be crucial.
Corinthians were determined to draw level and moved the ball across their backline on half way. Then, in a moment of pure genius, Billy McVann intercepted a flat pass and set sail for glory.

McVann stretched every sinew as he raced forward while every young man in blue and white pursued him like a pack of hyenas after a gazelle. The hyenas closed the gap with every passing step but the gazelle won the race and touched down as the Ballina followers went mad in the Clan Terrace.
McCormick added the extras and the scoreboard read 20-10 as time ticked away.

Once again, Corinthians came out fighting and their full-back Ciaran Weldon got over for a try on the right but the conversion went narrowly wide of the post and the gap stood at five, 20-15.

The closing minutes were awash with massive intent and overflowing with excitement. McCormick gave Ballina some breathing space with a well-struck penalty from the left and it seemed as if this Ballina team was finally entering the winners’ circle but Corinthians had other ideas.

They drove forward time and time again and in deepest injury time squeezed over for a try but time had ticked away and as the conversion flew between the posts the referee blew the final whistle and unleashed scenes of unbridled joy and wild celebration.

All good things do indeed come to those who wait!

Special thanks to the magnificent players, management and support staff, the parents, families, friends and all who contributed in any way whatsoever to making this dream come true!

This was one of the great finals!

BALLINA: Shane Herbert, Billy McVann, Brain Boland, Stephen Gibbons, Ian Kearney, Neal Moylett, Luke Sweeney, Patrick Howley, Niall Keane ( C ), Craig McCormick, Eoin Pritchett, Connor Bowes, Ian West, Oisin Smith Rouse, Bradley Nealon, Nathan Herbert, Chris Healy, Niall Carden, Sean Tracey, Javier Beldarrain, Michael Cribben, Daragh Ó Muirithe, Luke Gilmartin, Jack Maughan, Finn Stephens, Davis Purins, Ryan Donnellan Hegarty, Michael Collins, William Stephens.

Many, many pictures can be viewed on our club website tomorrow