Lisburn come back to earn draw

At Hydepark last Saturday the Smiley Monroe sponsored Lisburn First XV came back from the dead to snatch a late 13-all draw in their second Qualifying 2 League match of the season.

Up against a rugged Academy pack, Lisburn found it hard going in the set pieces for much of the game and despite having at least one glorious scoring opportunity in the middle of the first half, the score remained 3-3 at the interval, thanks to a penalty apiece from Mark Crowe and the home outhalf.

The second half commenced as the first one finished with a penalty to each team but halfway through the period a rather horrible accident occurred when there was a fierce collision between the Lisburn No 8, Mark Hill, and the Academy flanker, Henderson – brother of Ulster second row Ian Henderson, resulting in both players having to leave the field with shoulder injuries. With five minutes remaining, it looked as if the game would peter out into a six all draw but suddenly a Lisburn scrum went awry and despite winning the ball, it shot out through the back row where there was no No 8 in place and Academy gathered the loose ball to draw the defence and score. The conversion made it 13-6.

With just a handful of minutes left, Lisburn broke up field and camped on the Academy line in a final effort before the whistle. Academy transgressions as Lisburn put on the pressure resulted in two men in the bin. In the final play, and urged on by Captain for the day, Pete Graham, Lisburn got possession and following a great half break from Ross Edgar, Mark Crowe went in under the posts for a well taken try. The conversion by Crowe was a formality and so Lisburn escaped with two well-earned league points.

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