Academy triumph in cup final 'replay'

With injured Ballymena captain John Andrew joining Callum Patterson and Johnny McClelland on the sidelines, the Belfast boys were hopeful of reversing the outcome of the St Patrick’s Day showpiece.

Ballymena were quick out of the blocks and immediately began to stretch the BRA. defence. A great break by Caleb Morrison allowed Ballymena to exploit an overlap on the right hand side and centre Darren Geddis showed strength and pace to finish off below the posts. Caleb added the conversion to leave the score at 7-0 after 5 minutes.

In the 10th minute, Ballymena were penalised at the breakdown and Stuart Olding confidently knocked over the resulting kick. Shortly after the kick off, Caleb Morrison used his speed and power to score a fine try which he subsequently converted to make the score 14-3.

BRA began to come into the game and enjoyed a good period of possession which culminated in another Olding penalty.

Five minutes before half time, Ballymena won a line-out just outside the BRA 22 and their abrasive pack set up a driving maul which was stopped just short of the try line. Scrum half Jack Fleming was on hand to snipe around the corner for Ballymena’s third try.

BRA reduced the deficit immediately from the kick off with the dangerous Olding picking a hole in Ballymena’s defensive line and off-loading to a team mate for a try below the posts. Olding added the extras to leave the half-time score 19-13.

The second half was a cagey affair with neither team dominating territory or possession.

Midway through the second half, Peter Wallace pounced on a loose ball on the halfway line and showed exceptional pace to finish in the corner. Morrison just missed the difficult conversion.

With only a few minutes left, BRA generated a turnover in the Ballymena 22 and moved the ball to their No.8 who scored in the corner. Olding was unable to maintain his 100% record with the conversion attempt which left the final score at 24-18 to the home team.

Academy: Morrison, Stirling, Storey, Geddis, Campbell, Gillespie, Fleming; McNabney, Caithness, Hargy, McMurray, Hayes, Patton, Wallace (c), Rea. Replacement Halliday.