Ballina's league hopes brutally ended by last gasp Creggs try

CONNACHT J1A LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL

Ballina 14

Creggs 15

In Heffernan Park

North Mayo rugby club Ballina have been kicked out of the league race in the most dramatic fashion possible.

The Moysiders were leading by six points, at a 14-8 score, when the 80 minute mark ticked by.

All that was needed for Ballina to defeat Creggs, the defending three-in-a-row league champions, was one last turnover or a mistake from the guests from Galway.

But unfortunately for the Mayo side, Creggs were composed and dangerous in possession, some might say desperate. The men in maroon and white kept carrying hard at the Ballina defensive line, causing havoc. 

Eventually, they found a gap way outside on the wing and Mark Purcell crossed the whitewash. Creggs were still a point down. They needed to add the conversion but it was a very tough angle.

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Their fly-half Ronan Dowd stepped up, and as he froze before the kick, Heffernan Park fell quiet, one could hear a pin drop. The rain, which had pelted down for long spells of the game, had stopped.

Then, to the dismay of the Ballina players and supporters, the ball sailed through the sticks and Creggs players stormed onto the pitch. 

Ballina's league dream was brutally ended on their own turf. After topping the league in the round-robin phase, they had earned a home semi-final and hopes were high to take down the champions. But Creggs showed the heart of a champion in their quest to make it four Connacht Junior 1A League titles in-a-row.

It had been 80 minutes of outstanding rugby. Both teams showed up, ready for the physical challenge. Especially the first half was mostly dominated by strong defensive displays. 

Creggs took an 8-0 lead into half-time while Ballina didn't enter the opposition 22 once in 40 minutes. The Creggs maul was a potent attacking weapon.

However, to Ballina's credit, spurred on by players like Luke Sweeney, Thomas Hannigan, Alan Duffy and Calum Quinn, Ballina finally came to life.

After 46 minutes, Ian West received an outside pass from Calum Quinn who had burst through the Creggs defensive line, and West touched down for Ballina's first try. Craig McCormick was on the mark with the conversion to make it 7-8.

Ballina kept plugging away, playing some inspirational rugby, but Creggs were incredibly stubborn in defence. Twice Ballina found themselves in promising attacking positions, only to get penalised at the breakdown.

Then, after 70 minutes, the Mayo men got a penalty basically right in front of the goal posts, but instead of taking safe three points, they opted to play the ball.

After a couple of hard carries over the gain line, Ballina played the ball wide and second row Thomas Hannigan flew over the whitewash to the delight of the home crowd.

It was a brave decision to play the ball instead of going for the penalty. Ballina were up 14-8 at that stage and managed to hold until the heart breaking scenes in the dying moments.

Ballina had kept Creggs scoreless in the entire second half, until that final effort which led to the match-deciding converted try.

A very promising season was cut agonisingly short at the semi-final stage, showing how hard it is to win the Connacht J1A League.

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