Danske Bank 3rd XV Cup
Down High 23 Ballyclare High 5
Down High 3rd XV got their cup campaign off to a successful start on Saturday when they hosted a well drilled Ballyclare side in Downpatrick. Out half Daniel Millington made the most of the wind in the first half to keep Ballyclare well pinned in their own half.
Around the 10 minute mark, flanker Luke Thompson got the scoreboard ticking when he finished off a good sequence of play to touchdown for a try. Matthew Dougherty missed the conversion but added a penalty about 25 minutes into the game after Ballyclare strayed offside in defence.
In the second half Ballyclare got off to the better start and closed the gap to three points when they scored a try after a period of pressure in the Down 22. However Down didn’t take long to respond as Luke Thompson touched down in the corner for his second try.
Wing Michael Donaldson scored what was arguably the try of the match when he finished off a fine piece of backline play taking the final pass from full back Zac Fisher. In the closing minutes Andrew McNeilly added a final score for the boys in green when he touched down after some hard work by the green pack.