Sat 4th Jan, 14:30 Larne 22 – 17 Lurgan
Larne secure next round of Town’s Cup after Lurgan win
by Stephen Johnston
Larne RFC held on to secure a 22 – 17 win against a determined Lurgan in the Towns Cup at the Glynn on Saturday afternoon.
Match report and photo credit by John McMurtry of FrontRowUnion.com.
Ryan McAlister scored two first half tries for the home side with Ryan Garrett adding a third in the second half. Philip Andrews chipped in with two conversions and a last minute penalty to secure the game.
Having beaten the visitors twice already this season the odds were on a home win and it looked that way as Larne went into a 14 – 0 lead thanks to two tries from their young blindside lanker Ryan McAlister, both converted by out-half Philip Andrews.
Larne looked to be well on top and with full back Ryan Garret creating havoc in the Lurgan defence a big win for the East Antrim side looked on the cards.
Lurgan had other ideas and, rather like Munster against Ulster the night before, their pack gave them a way back into the match with a drive over try with ten minutes to go before the break.
The visitors followed that up with a second try just before half time and, with both tries converted, the teams turned round all square at 14 – 14,
The second half turned into a dog fight in the middle of the middle of the pitch. Larne rallied sufficiently to send Ryan Garrett over for their third try to take the score to 19 – 14 but the visitors hit back with a penalty to reduce the lead to two points.
As the tension mounted both teams reverted to kicking for territory in a scrappy second half and Lurgan missed a couple of opportunities to take the lead before a last minute penalty from Andrews secured the game for Larne.
Final Score: Larne 22 Lurgan 17.
Larne: C Rea, G Wright, S McWhirter, M Crampsey, J McCluggage, R McAlister, G Jamison, E Hunter, R McIlheron, P Andrews, N Kelso, R Thomas, J Burns, M Agnew, R Garrett, J Cole, A McBride.
