Larne men through to Gordon West Final

The Larne men travelled with a squad of 20 in what they knew would be a tight and fiercely fought affair.

From the start Larne went all out and took the game to the home side.

The early pressure saw Andrews put Larne 3 points in front within the first 5 mins. The Larne men continued stamp their mark early on and further pressure in the Letterkenny half allowed Andrews to slot over another penalty.

As the Donegal men played in to the wind they tried to run the ball through the use of their big forwards. However the men in red were more than up for the challenge with crunching hits being made most notably by the McIlheron combo of Mark and Ian.

As Andrews pinned the Letterkenny defence back with the use of his boot the pressure on them mounted. They conceded a further penalty that Andrews converted to put Larne’s noses further in front.

With the half progressing Letterkenny advanced in to the Larne half. As the visitors looked to be stretched in defence a great turnover by tight head Chris Rea saw the ball passed out wide. As Ian McIlheron drew the full back he passed to Garrett who raced clear from the half way line to go over in the corner for a superb counter attacking try. Andrews landed the difficult conversion.

With lineouts becoming more difficult for both teams due to the blustery weather, scrums were becoming more of an occurrence. Larne began to dominate in this facet compounding further pressure.

A scrum on the Letterkenny 22 allowed the Larne backs to run a move which saw Scott Montgomery scythe the Letterkenny defence to go under the sticks for a score. Andrews coverted.

At half time Larne were winning 23-0.

A few calming words from coach Kelly warned the Larne team of complacency setting in and that the battle was only beginning having to play in to the wind. Letterkenny tried to get in to the game through their trademark rucking and mauling however the Larne defence was more than a match as they showed a grittier side that has been lacking this season.

The home sides half backs also started to use the wind to their advantage kicking deep in to the 22 however Garrett was more than capable to the challenge.

The majority of the second half was a dogged affair with both teams getting embroiled in a real arm wrestle with the conditions underfoot soft and cutting up. The Larne defence remained resolute with very few attackers breaking it.

As Larne made changes the replacements made a positive impact and the fresh legs gave them further fire power. Jonny Hall made a break up the right wing clamping his side deep in to the visitors 22.

After a series of rucks and mauls, Larne exploited the blind side to put Ian McIlheron over in the corner. The conversion was missed.

As the second half wore on the home side did not lie down and they continued to attack. As they clamped themselves on the Larne 5 metre line, somehow Larne turned over the ball and went immediately on the counter attack.

This physically took it out of the home side and Larne saw out the rest of the game with no more bother.

Larne ran out winners 28-0.

A superb team performance by the Larne men from 1-20. Extremely gutsy and determined by the young side who showed a great deal of maturity. However, they know they have plenty to work on when they take on Holywood in the final on Sat 19th April. A special thanks must also go the supporters who travelled with the team. The team would also like to encourage as many people to come out next Saturday for the teams last home game of the season against Monaghan.

Larne Squad: J McCluggage(c),G Wright, C Rea, M Crampsey, C McKinty, G Jamison, M McIlheron, E Hunter, R McIlheron, P Andrews, N Kelso, I McIlheron, S Montgomery, J Burns, R Garrett, D Lough, S Smyth, J Cole, R McAlister, J Hall