BUCCANEERS 10 CARRICK-ON-SHANNON 17
BUCCANEERS and Carrick-On-Shannon served up some excellent fare in the Bank of Ireland Connacht U-15 Cup final at the Dexcom Stadium on Sunday with the Leitrim lads edging the verdict on a 17-10 scoreline. Bright sunshine and a light breeze meant conditions were near perfect at the Galway venue for players and spectators alike.
Buccs had first benefit of the breeze and slope and utterly dominated the opening half but were to rue missing quite a number of good opportunities. Will Browne looked like opening the scoring with a tremendous break after 8 minutes but was tackled just short of the line. Two minutes later Daniel Murphy made a promising break but lacked swift support and, moments later following a close-in scrum, Buccs could not ground the ball. Other chances went abegging too with possession kicked away on a number of occasions.
Then totally against the run of play Shane McGirl made a telling break for Carrick and when the ball was moved to the right Daniel O’Connell surged over for a 20th minute try. Buccaneers response was swift and, following a penalty to touch on the right, the Pirates moved the ball infield where Tomi Akinfaye powered over for a 24th minute try converted by Corey Kelly.
Oscar Killeen replaced the injured Murphy at this stage and Buccs were unlucky when Corey Kelly’s penalty rebounded off an upright while in follow up play a crossfield kick was not held so the Athlone boys lead at halftime was a mere 7-5 when it really should have been much more.
Nevertheless, Buccs continued to dominate in the third quarter and a 36th minute Corey Kelly penalty extended their advantage to 10-5. However, an attempted clearance was blocked down shortly afterwards, giving Carrick territory where Saran Griffith was yellow-carded seemingly for an accumulation of penalties by the Pirates. The Leitrim lads tapped the penalty and Aidan McNamara drove over the Buccs line for a try converted by Harry Hanrahan.
Buccs were then down to 13 players for a period when Aaron Costello’s untidy tackle saw him sin-binned. Nathan Taylor’s late try sealed the honours for Carrick-On-Shannon for whom McGirl and O’Connell were their key performers as the winners strong finish got a much better return from their fewer chances. This Carrick squad know how to win Cups, having won at U-13 and U-14, this makes it a very creditable three in a row.
Buccaneers will regret not making the most of their opportunities especially in the first half. But they can be justifiably proud of their season, progressing from a lower division all the way to the Cup final against a side that campaigned at a higher level. Buccs were more than a match for the victors in most facets with Fearghal Kelly, Robert Connor, Corey Kelly and Jordan Murray doing their utmost for the Pirates.
BUCCANEERS:- W.Browne; S.Norton, R.Connor, F.Kelly, O.Daly; J.Heneghan, S.Griffith; A.Costello, O.Kelly, L.Boakye; C.Burke, C.Kelly; J.Murray (captain), A.Akinfaye and D.Murphy. Replacements:- O.Killeen (for Murphy, inj. 28 mins), T.Rohan (for Daly, 48 mins), J.Monaghan, L.Clancy, J.Hurley, C.Kilcommons, D.O’Sullivan and R.McKenna.
CARRICK-ON-SHANNON:- C.McGovern; J.McGarry, R.O’Shaughnessy, S.McGirl, H.Kiliszek-Sromek; H.Hanrahan, Q.Joubert; A.McNamara, I.Mulvey, L.Durkin; N.Guckian, E.McKeon; S.McTeigue, D.O’Connell and N.Zondagh. Replacements:- N.Taylor, A.Sheridan, S.Boyle, E.Gallagher and R.Murphy.
Referee:- Michael Ridley (Connacht).
