Larne fight back to win away at Newforge

Having won the toss the visitors decided to play into a stiff breeze in the first half knowing they would have the advantage in the second period as long as they could hold out until half time. However, it was the hosts that started off the stronger of the two sides controlling both territory and possession. Larne won a penalty in the opening stages to take a 0-3 lead against the run of play but this lead was short lived.

PSNI forwards were finding holes close to the ruck and making easy yards up the pitch, it didn’t take long for the weak Larne defence to give and PSNI to slip under the posts for a soft try.

The home side continued to pile on the pressure and having giving away numerous penalties, Larne were lucky not to concede any further damage with the PSNI kicker being wide of the posts on three occasions.

With ten minutes to half time Larne started to finally come into the game. Great lines from the back row of Hunter, McIlheron and McAlister saw the Glynn men move up the pitch and threaten the line for the first time. Unfortunately they were unable to convert and Larne were lucky to get into half time only trailing 10 – 3.

With the wind and snow at their backs, the visitors looked like a different team after the break. McBride and Garrett used the wind well to play in the right areas of the pitch. It wasn’t long before they exploited the space well as PSNI tired. Burns was the first to cross the whitewash in the corner to bring Larne to within a few points of the lead. A penalty followed to put Larne in front and they never looked back from that point.

As the game opened up, a break off the scrum by Hunter put R McIlheron into space to give a neat pass to Scott (Balotelli) Montgomery to finally get his first deserved try of the season. The PSNI began to look defeated and Larne started to control the ball for the remainder of the match. Hunter’s hard work for the day was rewarded with a try as he spun out of a number of tackles to dot down in the corner. R McIlheron then completed the day with a snipe round the fringes and outpace the police to cross the line and leave the final score 10-28 to the visitors.

Another two points in the league sees them undefeated and a step closer to promotion. A long way still to go and Larne know it is theirs to throw away.

Larne face PSNI again in the quarter final of the Gordon West Cup at the Glynn this Saturday. Kick off 14:30 and all support would be welcome.