Inishowen are moving on up!

Inishowen have gained promotion to Division three after a heroic display against a tough Coleraine side.

Sadly, the league title goes to Grosvenor, who soundly thrashed Cooke 52-0 on Saturday.

But a superb second place finish ensures the club’s fortunes continue to be on the rise.

From the outset it was evident that Inishowen were in for a hard day at the office.

A very classy Coleraine backline showed willingness and ability to run the ball from anywhere on the pitch, often attacking from deep and sending the ball fast to the pacy wingers.

Slightly shell-shocked, Inishowen were lucky to concede only one try early doors.

Once the first wave of pressure had subsided, Inishowen were able to assert some degree of control on proceedings, sticking to patterns of play that had stood them in good stead over the season.

Whilst red hot in attack, the Coleraine defence seemed somewhat shaky at times, and the strong running of Shaun Craig and the elusive angles of Conor Mulkerns soon saw their own scoring account open with two tries in quick succession.

A penalty from Finn McCormick gave the visitors a 17-5 lead. 

With the second half underway, it was evident that Coleraine were not willing to lie down at any stage, forcing Inishowen to defend time and again.

And with Inishowen’s defence found wanting at times, Coleraine ran in some good tries. 

With the gap now eroded, Inishowen were forced to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and started to impose themselves on it once more.

Showing good controlling techniques, they frustrated Coleraine for long periods of the game forcing them into defensive errors.

These errors were punished by Paul Cassidy, who crossed over for his inaugural first team try to relieve the pressure on Inishowen to some degree. 

The delight of this score was soon forgotten however as shortly after Inishowen lost the services of captain Shaun Craig through injury.

This was a pivotal point of the game as now Inishowen had to try and retain procession at all costs in order to prevent Coleraine from capitalising on their numerical advantage.

This proved a hard task and Coleraine found the gap to put themselves just three points behind. 

The final ten minutes proved to be a nerve-wracking experience, but with a certain promotion at stake, Inishowen dug deep into their reserves and produced technically and tactically, their best performance of the season to date.

Grit, determination and iron will were in abundance as time after time, the team lay their bodies on the line to protect the ball from the ravenous home side and to deny them any quality possession and hold out for victory.

Inishowen’s final league match against Academy won’t go ahead as the result will not affect the league standings.

But they will meet the Belfast side  this coming Saturday in the Forster Cup final in Ravenhill.

Inishowen now have all the tools they require in order to bring the cup home, all they have to do, in this reporters opinion, is to make best use of these tools. 

There will be a supporters bus leaving Carndonagh on Saturday morning, details and tickets can be obtained at Kellys Service station, come along for what promises to be an excellent day out and cheer on your team - Inishowen RFC needs YOU!!!