Having fallen victim to their first loss of the season last week in Dromore, the Letterkenny under 18s were adamant to return to their winning ways as Ballyclare travelled to Dave Gallaher Park for a league game on Saturday. The conditions proved as expected with a strong wind blowing across the pitch, having an equally negative impact on the capabilities of both sides.

The game kicked off at 11.30am and it was immediately clear that Letterkenny would not be caught easily off guard. Persistent tackling and pressure resulted in them maintaining both territory and possession. However the visitors were able to keep out the waves of attacks and after twenty minutes the only reward for the home side’s efforts was a three point penalty from Ryan Mortimer.

Unfortunately for Letterkenny, winger Sam MacGinty suffered a broken ankle early on and he will be out for the next six weeks, we wish him well.

Tactical kicking from Mortimer and Daniel Faulkner kept Ballyclare within their own twenty-two and good work at the breakdown from the forwards regained possession for Letterkenny. They then worked their way towards the try line using crash ball to gain each valuable inch and Dermot Dunleavey broke through the pillar defence to further their lead. The conversion left the score at 10-0 at half time.

The second half was equally positive for the home side but Ballyclare began to show their potential threats and tested the Letterkenny defence. Countless tackles kept the visitors out and Joe Dunleavey made a sixty metre break to bring Letterkenny out of their twenty two and into Ballyclare’s half. As the match progressed it seemed definite that there would only be one winner and the players were aware of this- they introduced hard practiced moves into the back line. A loop between Mortimer and Daniel Bruce, inside centre, fed Faulkner with the chance to break the gain line and run in for an excellently worked try, converted to bring it to 17-0. Ballyclare were unable to reply with any conviction and this remained unchanged in the dying minutes to be the final score.

The next league fixture is away to Potadown on 8th November.