Superb Inishowen show their class to win away at Banbridge

Inishowen continued their tradition of big away days in the cup on Saturday with a six-hour round trip to Banbridge.
Banbridge 12 Inishowen 29

On an immaculate pitch the Inishowen men opted to play into the wind for the first half and suffered early on when just two minutes in, the home side got in for a cheap score in the corner and with the conversion left it 7-0.

Inishowen took that as a wake-up call and started to get into the game immediately after but it took them ten minutes before they levelled the score when Dermot McGonagle wriggled loose to run in a good try, converted by Scott to make it 7- 7.

The next try came from a penalty coming back off the post and Banbridge couldn’t react quickly enough and after a few controlled phases by the pack, McGonagle got in for his second try, again converted by Scott with the score now 7-14. 

Inishowen were getting into gear now with McConalogue nearly breaking the line twice and playing a tidy game and just before half time when Connor Mc Laughlin got space out on the wing and got the ball grounded safely 19-7 at the break.

With the hard work done, Inishowen looked more comfortable in the second half with the pack making yards and it was from a turnover by McKeague that allowed Scott to stretch the lead, converting a penalty to make it 22-7.

Banbridge rallied shortly after this and some lapse defending by the visitors allowed them in for a score in the corner 22-12 but before they could capitalise on this mark Scott intercepted a pass on the halfway line and wasn’t going to be stopped.

The team performance was good with McKenna, Browne and both Jason and Dermot Callaghan putting in good shifts in the pack and Scott, McGonagle and McConalogue making yards with the ball for the backs.