Ballina a bridge too far for Ashbourne

'We'll be back' was the message Ashbourne defiantly sent out after they were ultimately out-gunned by Ballina 19-29 in the AIL Round Robin series at Ashbourne yesterday. 

The home side were in real trouble from the start. They fell 0-17 down before they finally made a breakthrough when Frank Keegan rumbled over for a try, converted by Donal Crotty. 

The Mayo side continued to add to their account in the second-half but Ashbourne showed plenty of pride in the jersey and worked an unconverted try that was well-taken by Shane Bass. 

In the closing stages Ashbourne's spirit was again manifested when Sean McKeon went over the white-wash with Crotty tagging on the conversion. 

Winners of the All-Ireland Junior Cup and Leinster League Div 1 Ashbourne had a memorable campaign but Ballina proved a bridge too far.