| Ballynahinch travelled to Deramore Park in Belfast on Saturday to play Ulster rivals Harlequins is a vital Ulster Bank League clash. The Hinch have been leading the charge in Division 1B from the start of the season but in recent outings they seem to have developed a bit of a speed wobble, but yet have still managed to just hang onto the top spot in the league.
The conditions at Deramore were almost perfect, the only issue being the pitch, which was quite heavy in a few places, a faulty drain not working in the middle of the park making it rather sticky.
Harlequins started the contest with real purpose and were much more physical in contact and at the breakdown. The visitors found it impossible to get out of the 22 by the 10-minute mark, as the home side kept Hinch on the back foot, scrambling in defence on many occasions.
In the 14th minute Quins moved play across the Hinch 22 where Mark Kettyle spotted that the Hinch fullback David Nicholson out of position and he put a neat chip through for Michael Allen to run onto and score just left of the posts. Ian Porter added the extras to take the home side into a 7-point lead.
The Hinch made their way into the Quins half from the restart and James Lash converted a penalty goal in the 16th minute to close the gap to 7-3.
The game at this stage became very scrappy with the Hinch having to battle hard for any decent possession, and when they did try to move the ball the Quins defencive line looked to be permanently off-side as they took man and ball on several occasions.
Neither side had made much progress as the game approached the half hour mark, then Quins flanker Alistair Heatlie hit James Lash late just outside the Quins 22. The referee, Eddie Hogan O’Connell from Cork, didn’t seem to react to the incident but while the game was stopped as Lash received treatment, assistant referee David Armstrong had a word with the referee and Heatlie was sent to the dug-out for 10 minutes.
Lash converted the penalty to close the gap to 7-6 but Porter countered this with a long-range effort in the 34th minute giving Quins a 10-6 advantage.
In the final play of the first half the Hinch had their best chance to score. A great build up from the pack deep in the Quins 22 gave the Hinch backs a chance to attack wide. Willie Faloon took a lovely line in midfield to put David Nicholson into space. Nicholson did all the hard work, drawing the Quins cover into the corner he passed inside to the supporting Aaron Ferris on a great angle, but his pass to Ferris was too hard and low and the Hinch winger found it impossible to hang onto the ball with the line at his mercy.
This was the final play in the first half leaving the Hinch to turn round down 10-6.
It was a bizarre opening to the second half as the Hinch looked much brighter and started to build a few phases when Michael Allen came into a ruck from the side. When penalised Allen had words with the referee and was subsequently sent to the bin for 10 minutes.
Hinch kicked for the corner to set up a catch and drive but as the second drive came through the maul was pulled to the ground with Quins players lying all over the ball. The referee signaled for a Hinch penalty then assistant referee David Armstrong for the second time held his flag out. This time Chris Napier was sent to the touch line for 10 minutes, but with no clear signal given it was hard to understand what this was for, perhaps it was the over use of the foot on Gareth Rourke as he covered the ball.
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A let off for Quins as the Hinch had started to play well for the first time, moving Ulster player Ian Whitten into the centre made a considerable impact as the big man started to cause major problems in the midfield.
In the 55th minute the Hinch had forced Quins into a scrum 5 metres short of their line. The Hinch front row worked hard as Jonny Simpson and Jerry Cronin managed to turn the Quins scrum towards the touchline forcing number 8 Neil McComb to pick up. Unfortunately for McComb Hinch flanker Willie Faloon was waiting and the Quins man was hit hard, then upended and robbed of the ball. Jonny Madden was quick to react and he flashed the ball wide where James Lash raced through to dive under the posts for the try. Lash added the extras to take the Hinch into the lead, 10-13.
It had been a good opening 15-minute spell to the second half for the Hinch, but a lack of concentration and an unacceptable error count started to swing the game in the favour of the home side.
From the restart Jonny Graham did not take the ball cleanly and it bounced forward where Harry McAleese was first to react but dived on it from an offside position. Porter struck the penalty beautifully from long range, to tie the scores at 13 points apiece.
When David Nicholson went off his feet at a ruck 3 minutes later Porter repeated the dose with a third magnificent long-range effort, taking his side 16-13 clear.
As the game entered the final quarter the breakdown was becoming a lottery with both sides infringing at will. Quins thought they had another shot in the 61st minute but assistant referee Mark Hermin stepped in and the decision was once again changed.
However, poor discipline from the Hinch continued during the next five minutes. First they let Quins relieve the pressure near their line, then gifted Porter with another penalty opportunity in the 69th minute and the Ulster number 9 slotted his kick between the uprights to take Quins 19-13 clear.
A converted try was needed from the visitors and they did manage to lift their game in the final five minutes. In the final passage of play Aaron Ferris looked to have the space to make the corner but as he dived for the line he was flagged by assistant referee David Armstrong as being in touch.
A big loss for the Hinch, but they did not deserve to win this one and in the end they were lucky to come away with a bonus point. Poor concentration, an unacceptable error count and dreadful discipline at times gifted the points to Quins who were the better side on the day and deserved the victory.
This result with the losing bonus point now leaves the Hinch still on top of Division 1B on points difference over Quins. Ballymena, Buccaneers and Dungannon are all within one or two points, it couldn’t be any closer.
This Friday night will be massive. “Friday Night Lights” is part of the new league structure and this next round will see Dungannon travel to Ballymacarn Park this Friday evening for a 7.30pm kick-off. Dungannon had a big crowd turn up at Stevenson Park for the corresponding fixture back in November; with so much at stake Derek Suffern and Charlie McAleese will hope for a large Hinch support for what is sure to be a cracking game.
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