Rearcross travelled to Ballina on Saturday morning to face Lough Derg in their penultimate league fixture of the season. It was allways expected that this would be a difficult encounter for the visitors but Rearcross fought hard for every ball from the start and they accounted for themselves well in the first 15 minutes of the game. Lough Derg finally made the breakthrough in the 18th minute when indecision in the Rearcross defence allowed the home side to take the lead with a goal scored from close range. 5 minutes later Rearcross suffered a further blow when a penalty was rewarded to the Lough Derg side however Pat Carroll who was in fine form for the visitors did very well to parry the penalty effort out for a corner kick.The resultant corner however led to the 2nd Lough Derg goal when Rearcross failed to clear from their area with the ball eventually finding the net. The home side added a 3rd to their tally just before half time with a fine strike from distance. The second half started with Rearcross again fighting hard for every ball which made life difficult for the Lough Derg side. Pat Carroll continued to prevent Lough Derg from increasing their lead in the game and fine individual performances from Sam Wilkins and Conor Nolan meant that the second half was much more competitive. Rearcross were justly rewarded in the 50th minute of the game when Conor Nolan took posession of the ball on the edge of the area and delicately chipped the ball over the Lough Derg keeper to find the net. The goal gave Rearcross the confidence to push on with their challenge to reduce the deficit but time was against them and the game finished 3-1.

Rearcross Panel: Pat Carroll, James Rochford, Pat O'Toole, Brandon Shanahan, Philip Deegan, Sam Wilkins, Conor Nolan, Jamie McCarthy, Aaron McMahon, Lorcan Carberry, Niall Carberry.

Report compiled by Dermot Hammersley