Old Belvedere leave it late

Old Belvedere 25 Ballymena 22 (after extra-time)

Scrum half Ruairi Cushion was the hero for Old Belvedere as he landed an extra-time penalty to end Ballymena's resistance at Anglesea Road.

In an epic battle, Belvedere prevailed after two periods of extra-time, during which Cushion, the hosts' third place-kicker of the afternoon, managed to split the posts.

The Dublin 4 outfit led 12-0 early on thanks to tries from Marcus McAllister and David Mongan, with Eamonn Fitzgerald kicking one conversion.

But Ballymena bounced back to end the first half 15-12 ahead - Peter Budina and captain Ian Caldwell both touched down and Kiwi Tommy Woods kicked the other five points.

An intercept try from Woods' opposite number, Kieran Hurrell, saw Belvedere shoot back into the lead after the restart.

The drama continued as a try from Sam McKinney, the son of former Ireland and Lions player Stuart McKinney, had Ballymena leading 22-17.

Leo Auva'a then sprung into space to score Belvedere's fourth try, and with the conversion missed, the game went to extra-time.

Scorers:

Old Belvedere: Tries: Marcus McAllister, David Mongan, Kieran Hurrell, Leo Auva'a; Con: Eamonn Fitzgerald; Pen: Ruairi Cushion

Ballymena: Tries: Peter Budina, Ian Caldwell, Sam McKinney; Cons: Tommy Woods 2; Pen: Tommy Woods