Nenagh Ormond continued their push for the 2A title with a statement win in the Munster derby with Old Crescent. As the weeks tick by, the gap from fourth to ninth is eight points as the race for promotion and relegation play-offs really is anyone’s game at the moment.
Ballymena (2T) 20-13 Cashel (1T), Eaton Park
Ballymena despite their win over Cashel are still locked in a three way battle for safety, while also they have a chance at promotion with how competitive 2A is at the moment.
Ben Twomey struck an early penalty for the lead for the visitors, Ballymena started to settle and with ten minutes gone Curtis Henry broke for a try, Callum Patterson converting. Shy of the half hour however Ballymena coughed up a penalty try and Cashel were 10-7 ahead. Twomey made that lead 13-7 with a penalty as the teams broke for the interval.
Patterson drew first blood for Ballymena in the second half, slotting another three points from the tee to close the gap. Momentum was with the hosts and stayed with them right to the final whistle, Roshan Weerarathne crossing for their second try which Patterson converted. Discipline cost Cashel at times and Patterson had a leading role in the win, adding another penalty to cap a fantastic performance.
Banbridge (2T) 15-19 Navan (3T), Rifle Park
A late try by Jamie Kavanagh stole the points from the clutches of Banbridge and keeps Navan right in the fight for safety in these coming weeks.
The Meath men started brighter as Rory Gordon spotted a gap from a five metre lineout to dot the opening try, Gordon converting for the seven point lead. On the half hour mark Navan doubled their lead, Banbridge down to 14 with a yellow card and they took full advantage as Liam Carroll dotted their second try, Gordon converting. Banbridge did manage a score ahead of half-time Peter Cromie with a try converted by Jack Hart, 14-7 at the break.
Six minutes elapsed in the second half and with momentum still on the hosts side, Rob Lyttle marched over for their second try, going unconverted. As the game wore on again it was tight, the narrative of the contest throughout. Hart slotted a penalty to give the hosts the lead for the first time with 75 minutes elapsed.
However we still had time for late drama. In the final minutes, an excellent catch and drive from a lineout led to Jamie Kavanagh scoring the winning try in the right corner, this survival fight is getting spicy.
Greystones (3T) 24-13 UL Bohemian (1T), Dr Hickey Park,
A win was badly needed by Greystones to keep their survival hopes alive and despite beating UL Bohs they are still ninth in the table.
All of the action took place in a dramatic opening half. KIllian Marmions boot was busy as he converted his own try and struck a penalty in that opening half. Craig Kenny would add a second try for the hosts and Marmion made no mistakes converting.
UL Bohs relied on Harry Byrne’s goal kicking to keep them in the tie, he struck two penalties and converted a Tadhg Walsh try. David Baker with a crucial third try however for the hosts to see them lead 24-13 amidst those UL scores.
The second was tight as neither side took a score, the table even more dramatic after this contest.
Malone (4T) 22-36 MU Barnhall (7T), Gibson Park
MU Barnahll are up to second place in the table six point adrift of Nenagh who have a game in hand as they powered their way to victory against Malone.
Malone did draw first blood with Josh Storey crossing for an early try. Barnhall did see Sean Sexton go the bin when that try was coughed up and soon managed to get a foothold in the game, Abdul Olaosebikan crossing for a try and Adam Chester gave the visitors the lead with the conversion.
Barnhall pressed onwards, tries by Conor Duggan and a second by Olaosebikan went unconverted but stretched the visitors lead to 17-5. Malone did hit back before the break, Ben Halliday closing the gap to seven points at the interval with their second try.
Malone took that momentum into the second half and soon added their third try of the contest, Mark Galvin crossing to cut the deficit to two points as the conversion again was missed. Barnhall failed to let their heads drop and a lovely move in play saw Luke Callahan cross for the bonus point try. That try was unconverted but minutes later Keith Farrell added a fifth try for the Kildare men which Chester converted, 29-15 to the visitors.
With the aid of that fruitful scoring nature Barnall saw out the contest, Sexton added their seventh try and another two from Chester kept a healthy lead towards full-time. Malone would also grab a bonus point in the tie, Nathan Brown going over late in the contest and Matty Rae converting for a 14 point margin.
Nenagh Ormond (4T) 24-3 Old Crescent (0T), New Ormond Park
Nenagh kept on the track to move up to 1B as they put on a dominant showing to defeat Old Crescent in their Munster Derby in New Ormond Park, a good showing coming into their game with Ballymena this weekend.
Ronan McKenna dispatched an early penalty to give Crescent the early lead, this proved to be the only score of the contest from their perspective. Nenagh soon got a foot in the game as Conor McMahon glided over and converted his own try for a four point lead. Josh Rowland kept up their scoring form adding a second try which went unconverted to make it 12-3 at the break.
It was the McMahon and Rowland show for Nenagh, the pair grabbed one each in the opening half and would do the same in the second. McMahon again first to race over and dot the third try which went unconverted, before he converted Rowland’s bonus point score, it is looking good for the Nenagh men.
Diarmuid Kearney
Diarmuid Kearney is a freelance Sports Journalist based in Co Kerry. He has more than 5 years experience covering domestic and international soccer for different media organisations, while also working for local and national print and digital organisations covering GAA.