Senior Cup Final
Ballynahinch 50 – Dungannon 3
By James Kirk
Ballynahinch ended the season in style with a seven-try demolition of Dungannon at Kingspan Stadium, returning the Senior Cup to the Ballymacarn Park trophy cabinet. The County Tyrone outfit had not lost since before Christmas and recently gained promotion to AIL 2A, but had no answer to the power, pace, and superior skillset of their high-flying AIL 1A opponents.
The tone was set in the first minute when the returning Aaron Sexton cruised in from 40m after a superb short-side move. Despite an excellent Dungannon penalty goal from the reliable Ben McCaughey, Ballynahinch forged ahead with a catch-and-drive try from hooker Claytan Milligan and a Conor Rankin penalty before the end of the first quarter.
Dungannon had their best period of the match during a scoreless second quarter, enjoying some possession and territory without providing any real threat. Ballynahinch failed to take advantage of at least three try-scoring opportunities but had complete control at the set-piece as the sides turned around.
This domination produced one-way traffic in the second half as Ballynahinch turned the screw with five converted tries. Zack McCall ran an excellent support line to finish off a brilliant passage of play before Milligan scored his second from another lineout drive with 15 minutes to go.
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