Larne 3rds Out of Butler Shield

Larne started the game poorly, conceding quickly when the Strabane no 8 broke through half-hearted tackles to score. Strabane couldn’t add the conversion however.

The shock of this early try seemed to wake the visitors up and they immediately upped their game. Larne forced their way into the Strabane half and cranked up the pressure, eventually drawing the home side into conceding a penalty which Carter coolly slotted between the sticks.

Larne continued to apply the pressure and from another penalty they set themselves up with a line out just inside the opposition 22. A strong Strabane lineout prevented the glynn men from capitalising.

Larne took the lead before half-time with Luke Burford powering his way over the line on his début; Carter added the conversion to give the visitors a 10-5 lead.

The second half saw Strabane dominate but also saw Larne produce one of the finest defensive performances of the season. The home pack mauled and crashed the ball at the Larne line time after time but strong tackling from Irwin, Williamson, McWhirter, Shannon, Alcorn and the Smyth brothers kept Strabane out.

An attacking line-out on the right allowed the opposition to quickly set up a maul which the rumbled slowly over the Larne line but despite their best attempts to hold the ball up the referee decided they had done so illegally and awarded Strabane a penalty try. Quick thinking and even quicker feet from Stuart Smyth saw him charge down the conversion to keep the score level. Strabane pilled on the pressure from the restart and pinned Larne back in their own half for the rest of the game. Not giving in, each of the mighty 3s put their bodies on the line to keep the home side from scoring again in the hopes of holding out for a replay.

This plan seemed to work until 10 minutes from the end when the opposition pack finally battered their way through the tired Larne defence. Again they couldn’t add the conversion.

Behind by 5 points Larne launched a desperate attack from the restart, kicking away from the strong Strabane pack and looking to Gibson, Carter and Smyth to recover the ball. Fate however was to intervene and the ball bounced nicely for the Strabane centers to secure it and then send a long ball back into the Larne 22 now that there was no full back at home. Gibson sprinted back in time to retrieve the ball first but was caught by the opposition who stole the ball and sealed victory for the home side scoring a converted try before the final whistle was blown.

Strabane head to the semi-final with this 22-10 win in a game which was a lot closer for 70 minutes than the scoreline suggests. Larne should be proud of the defensive performance they produced against an exceptionally strong pack, 1 to 15 made the tackles and took the hits and it stands them in good stead for the rest of the season.

Line-up: B. Meikle, J. McCullough, L. Burford, J. McCullough, G. Jamison, C. Smyth, S. Smyth, J. Shannon, M. Irwin, A. Carter, G. Gaw, D. Weir, J. Carter, R. Stewart, A. Gibson, M. Alcorn, S. McWhirter, R. Williamson.