Banbridge 19   Connemara 13     23rd Feb.’08

This match was always going to be a difficult one for 14th place Connemara taking on 4th place Banbridge who are trying to say in contention for a top place in AIL division 3.
The weather was not the best with some wind and rain from early morning and a pitch that looked worse for wear.
Connemara played into the wind in the first half and after missing a penalty in the 5th minute was successful in the 9th minute when Troy Nathan converted the penalty. As the game went on is was becoming obvious that Banbridge with a much bigger pack were going to keep the game tight, this tactic paid off and were rewarded in the 17th min when they scored a push over try, their number 8 touching down the try was converted leaving the score  7 -3 to Banbridge.
At this stage things were not looking good for Connemara, Banbridge looked very strong up front and were controlling the scrums .They always looked dangerous and were making Connemara work hard to keep them out.
Maybe against the run of play but in the 23rd minute Connemara got in for a very good try by Paddy O’ Toole which was not converted leaving the score  8-7 to Connemara.
After a lot of pressure in the 30th minute Banbridge scored another push over try this left the score 12-8 at half time.
Connemara were still well in this game and now with the wind in their backs started the second half well but in the 12th minute Banbridge scored their 3rd push over try.  This was converted leaving the score 19-8.
Banbridge were now on course for their 4th try and the extra bonus point which would help in their attempt to stay in the top four.
Connemara had it all to do now to get something out of this game. At this stage Connemara seemed to changed into a different gear and started to run at Banbridge this was rewarded in the 27th minute with a push over try, again the conversion was missed.
With the score now at 19-13 and Connemara coming at Banbridge it looked like Connemara might get more than the bonus point out of this game.  But, despite their best efforts, they could not get in for a try.
On the full time whistle Banbridge gave a big sigh of relief at getting away with the win.
This was another great performance from Connemara and while not getting the result this time they showed they can mix it with the best in the division.
They will still need to pick up a few more points to ensure Connemara will continue in the AIL next year. All the teams they have left to play are in the top half of the table
Again next Saturday’s home game against Naas is huge. (P. Walshe)

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 24th, 2008 at 10:54 pm and is filed under Seniors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.