Corinthians 39

Cashel 41

By John Mulligan at Corinthian Park

CORINTHIANS remains top of the All-Ireland League Division 2A despite a narrow defeat to Cashel at Corinthian Park on Saturday afternoon.

In a game that looked over midway through the first half, Michael Harding’s young side displayed incredible character to almost snatch victory and, in the end, it took a converted try in the 83rd minute to eventually decide a game that will be talked about for some time.

Not that it was any consolation to the home side, but considering that they were missing as many as 18 players through injury and involvement with the Connacht Eagles, the performance of Corinthians and their ability to come back from a near-impossible position shows that the experience gained will stand to them.

It must also be said, and this might be more important than any, that the two bonus points in defeat mean that Corinthians are still top of the division alongside Instonians with a break to come until their next game away to Banbridge on the December 7.

Cashel came with a point to prove after their defeat a week earlier to Navan and they took the lead after just 56 seconds with a penalty from Ben Twomey. They added to it in the ninth minute with a try from Alan Flannery who picked up a loose pass and ran the length of the field to score. A second try from Tom Tobin five minutes later and one Twomey conversion had Corinthians already in trouble with barely 15 minutes gone.

However, despite the early jitters, Corinthians were starting to find their feet. A brilliant try by Tom Waters converted by Feargal MacCearra had them back in the game but the respite was short-lived as tries from Alex Harold Barry and Ben Twomey and a Twomey conversion had Corinthians trailing by 20 points with five minutes remaining in the half.

Pictured: Corinthians’ Rory Glynn is tackled by Timothy Townsend of Cashel during the All-Ireland League Division 2A tie at Corinthian Park on Saturday. Photo: Iain McDonald