Dromore High welcomed Wallace High to Barban Hill for their U16 Cup match on a breezy Wednesday afternoon.
Wallace started the game with a bit of style applying early pressure on the Dromore line throughout the opening 10 minutes. However, Dromore held firm and after the initial onslaught from visitors the home team started to use the strong wind at their back to keep wallace pinned in their own territory.
Understandably for new teams early season the bulk of the first half was a touch scrappy but Dromore finally got the scoreboard ticking over 26 minutes in with a well worked blindside break, from the back of a scrum, sending right wing William Smyth over in the corner to give Dromore a 5 – 0 lead.
It looked like the home side might have something to defend against the strong wind in the second half but Wallace had other ideas and they marched straight back up the pitch and stayed there for the five minutes it took to send James Gould over for the equalising try with the final play of the half taking the score to 5 – 5.
Wallace used the wind well at the start of the second half securing territory to send Ollie Fitzsimmons and Gould over for a try each with Alex Stevenson converting one to take the score to 5 – 17 withing ten minutes of resumption. It looked like it was going to be a long second half for the Dromore players.
However the home team responded wonderfully with a big hit in defence followed by a fantastic break from Luke Dillon from the half way line. Unfortunately the long run-in corresponded with a card malfunction on my camera and by the time I got it changed out Alfie Clarke was stepping up for the conversion to take the score to 12 – 17.
Dromore played all the rugby in the final fifteen minutes despite Fitzsimmons barrelling over for his second for Wallace.
Dromore’s Charlie Freeburn went over for their third to take the score 17 – 22 with minutes left and their enterprise should have been awarded with at least a draw as Wallace panicked under intense pressure.
However, the visitors held out and with no further score Wallace gratefully took the 17 – 22 win back to Lisburn.
Match Gallery
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