Connemara’s outstanding season in Junior Rugby in the province continued in the Monastery Field on Sunday last when they overcame a brave Ballinrobe challenge. Connemara’s reward is a junior cup final date with a Castlebar team who last appeared in the final in 1996. Castlebar overcoming Monivea with the last kick of the game in their Semi-Final.
Storm Jorge had already had some worried but anyone
who thought that this game would be called off soon had their doubts allayed as
the pitch was passed playable on the Sunday Morning. Ballinrobe were going into
this game as underdogs. Connemara had wrapped up the Junior 1A League a week
previously with a win over Westport while Ballinrobe were fighting a battle to
stay in Junior 1B with both Loughrea and Ballina just below them at the bottom
of the table. In fact, fourteen league places separated the teams.
Connemara is a side who likes to start fast and this
they did. A try from Peter O’Toole after just two minutes almost had an air of
the inevitable about it and when Kevin Keogh and TJ Berry both crossed the
whitewash inside the opening twenty five minutes, it was hard to see any kind
of a comeback. Ballinrobe however, refused to bend the knee and they responded
with two of their own. First from Daniel Keane in the 27th minute which started
a period of madness with both teams scoring in the remaining twelve minutes of
the half. Following Keane’s try, Peter O’Toole crossed over to extend the
Connemara lead again but five minutes later Liam Burke did likewise and with
Curtis Jones and Stephen Conroy doing the necessary from the boot, a ten point
gap was what separated the teams as the half time whistle went.
With conditions remaining difficult at times, the
second half was always going to be interesting. Connemara needed two penalties
from Curtis Jones to maintain their lead and when Ballinrobe hit back with a
try from Danny King that was converted by Conroy, a nine point lead was all
between the sides as we entered the final quarter.
Nine points is nothing in rugby. However, twelve can
sometimes be a trip too far and Jones had the smarts to extend Connemara’s lead
to that margin when given the chance. It would be the final score and the
necessary cushion to send Connemara back to the Sportsground where they will attempt
to win the Double Double following their success last season.
Connemara: Eugene Conroy, Barry Gibbons, Ian Staunton, Niall Staunton, Kevin Keogh, Conor O’Malley, Paul Lee, TJ Berry. Michael O’Toole, Curtis Johns, Peter O’Toole, David McDonagh, Eoin Bourke, Marty Conneely, Henry O’Toole.
Replacements: Matt Mullins, Ian McDonagh, Nathan Griffith, Jack Vaughan, Kevin Barry.
Ballinrobe: James McTigue, Chris McHugh, Kevin Staunton, Garry Duffy, Patrick Mylotte, David Madden, Micheal Walsh, Jack Winters. Oisin Gill, Steven Conroy, Paul Keane, Daniel Keane, Conor Varley, Liam Burke, Joseph Burke.
Replacements: Ezra McAleenan, Martin Mikolajewski, Jack Ormsby, Martin Joyce, Tom Lynagh.
Meanwhile, Monivea's hopes of reaching the Junior Cup Final were dashed by a late Castlebar Penalty in their Semi-Final in Monivea.
Darren Kelly Reports
