At the summit Nenagh’s record remained unblemished while Old Crescent and Navan gained places in the standings to close the gap to the promotion places.
UL Bohemian (1T) 16-12 Ballymena (2T), Annacotty
In a nail biting finish in Annacotty, UL Bohemian showed incredible defensive prowess to keep 14 man Ballymena out in the dying embers to seal their fourth win of the campaign.
Harry Byrne gave UL the ideal start, kicking two penalties for a 6-0 lead in the opening ten minutes. Ballymena would manage a score just before the break,a terrific lineout gathered steam toward the UL try line and after numerous phases of intense attack without a score, captain Adam Lamont dotted down for their opening try. Crowe had his conversion crack the right upright as the hosts took a one point lead to the break, 6-5.
Into the second half and Liam Neilan crossed for the opening try for the hosts, no sooner had their lead been furthered, a quick tap go penalty from Roshan Weerarathne, saw the visitors in to make it 13-12. Byrne capped a strong showing with another penalty to put the hosts ahead by four. A dogged defence kept Ballymena out in those final minutes.
Full Match Report & Stats from the contest available here.
Post Match reaction from the meeting of UL Bohemian and Ballymena available here
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MU Barnhall (3T) 19-24 Cashel (3T), Parsonstown
Cashel kept up their recent spell of good form showing their prowess to overcome a determined second half comeback from Barnhall.
The opening half was tough and cagey with testing elements causing issues for both. It took until the stroke of halftime before we saw a score in this close fought contest, Cashel awarded a penalty try as Barnhall just could not deal with pressure in the legal sense, the visitors ahead 7-0 at the break.
Into the second half Brendan Crosse was the first Cashel man to cross for a try in the contest and with Ben Twomey having an accurate boot this season the lead was doubled. Barnhall soon added seven to cut the gap before Twomey made it 17-7 from the tee.
A frantic finish in Parsonstown as Barnhall added a second try to cut the gap to five before Jamie Ryan crossed the whitewash for a 24-12 lead after Twomey remained impeccable with the conversions. Barnhall snatched a third try late on but Cashel were determined to hold out and claim the result.
Navan (2T) 20-17 Greystones (2T), Balreask Old
Navan climbed to six in the standings after Rory Gordon’s penalty shortly after the hour mark gave them a narrow win over Greystones.
Greystones started the better build up a 10-0 lead by the end of the opening quarter following a try by Billy Ngawini and a conversion and penalty from Killian Marmion. Navan ended the half with a flurry as Greystones had Michael Doyle sent to the bin.
Harry Hester crossed to the left of the posts as the numerical advantage left some gaps opening in the Greystones rearguard. Rory Gordon converted to cut the gap to three. Gordon levelled matters on the 32nd minute mark dissecting the posts with a penalty to leave the score 10-10 going to the break.
Ngawini added a second try for the visitors three minutes into the second half with Marmion on hand to put seven between them. Shy of the hour mark Navan hit back, Peter McEntaggart pumping the legs to get over Gordon’s successful conversion kick from near the touchline levelled the game at 17-17. Gordon proved to be the match winner as his 66th minute penalty decided the outcome of the contest.
Nenagh Ormond (6T) 39-3 Banbridge (0T), New Ormond Park
Nenagh continued their hot streak in 2A going six from six after a dominant display at home to Banbridge.
Nenagh dictated the play in the opening half and were ahead after 34 minutes of closely fought action as Paudie Bourke powered over from a tap and penalty. Conor McMahon converted and struck a penalty two minutes from time to leave the gap 10-0 at the interval.
Adam Doherty got Banbridge on the board after 50 minutes, in the final 30 minutes which followed, Nenagh were ruthless on the scoring front. Josh Rowland and Ben Pope each scored two tries, with Willie Coffey also crossing in a dominant finish to the game by the hosts. McMahon converted two of those five tries.
Old Crescent (5T) 33-15 Malone (2T), Takumi Park
Old Crescent scored a big result with a non stop barrage in the second half moving them to fifth in the table with victory over Malone.
Crescent drew first blood as Dean O’Grady crashed over for the games opening try, Ronan McKenna converted for a 7-0 lead. Malone hit back with Nathan Brown crossing for their opening try, converted by Matthew Hamilton. No sooner had we seen that try Evan Conlon sprinted down the wing and touched down for a second Crescent try, McKenna making it 14-12. Malone finished the half in fine fashion, Mark Galvin with their second try before the half hour mark, Hamilton converted and left it 15-14 at the break with a penalty minutes later.
The second half would go all the way of the hosts. Five minutes after the restart Joe Rickard crossed for the third Crescent try which McKenna converted for a six point lead. Ten minutes later the bonus point was secured as Jed O’Dwyer crossed for an unconverted try, the lead 26-15. Crescent added a fifth try as Michael O’Hanrahan crossed on the hour mark for the final try of the contest, McKenna making his fourth kick of the afternoon.
More Info on Division 2A here.
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.