Carrick On Shannon made the trip to Ballina for the Curley Shield Cup Final and Claremorris came out on top by 29 to 26 after a tight and physical game.
Claremorris had the wind in the first half and put Carrick under pressure straight away. Carrick were kept inside their own half for a long spell as Claremorris carried hard and held on to the ball. Their first try came from a penalty on the left side. They tapped moved it across the line and worked it wide to the right where their forwards linked up and forced their way over. The conversion went wide and it was 5 to 0.
Carrick cleared from the restart but Claremorris soon pushed back again and earned another penalty inside the Carrick twenty two. They tapped and carried through short phases and crossed under the posts. The kick was good and Claremorris led 12 to 0.
Carrick settled after that and started to play. They worked the ball left and found space for Daniel Bosquette who stepped inside and ran in from distance. Senan Mooney converted and Carrick were back to 12 to 7.
Carrick followed with their strongest passage of the half. Good carries close to the line opened a gap for Patrick Charles who went straight through under the posts. Mooney converted and Carrick moved ahead by 14 to 12.
Claremorris struck back just before half time. A scrum near halfway gave them clean ball and they attacked down the left. Their winger showed real pace and finished well in the corner. The conversion dropped short and Claremorris went in leading 15 to 14.
The second half opened with tight play from both sides but Carrick gave away a run of penalties which handed ground back to Claremorris. A well hit penalty pushed the Mayo side further ahead and later they crossed again after holding possession through several phases close to the line.
Carrick hit back with a move down the left. Quick hands created room for Bosquette and he finished strongly for his second try. Claremorris answered almost straight away with another try which was converted to bring the score to 29 to 19.
Carrick produced one last attack late on. They worked the ball to the right where Andrew Hewson finished near the corner. Mooney landed the conversion and the referee blew for full time as the kick went over.
Carrick now turn to their home league games. They will know themselves that penalties slow exits and loose ball cost them at key moments and they will look to tidy those parts of their game in the weeks ahead.
