Co Carlow 17; Ballymena 16: The blood-flecked mouth of Padraig Brennan creased into a small smile but otherwise he betrayed very little emotion as he wearily slumped to a bench in an empty dressingroom. It was in complete contrast to the delirium that descended on Oak Park at a little after four o'clock on Saturday afternoon.
Carlow ensured another season in Division One with a last-gasp victory. It didn't matter that because of events some 70 miles away in Kilternan where DLSP were being disembowelled by Galwegians, Carlow's survival was guaranteed anyway. It was the manner in which they retained their status that ignited the euphoria.
Brennan, last year's captain and a player who has led the team in the absence of the injured Andy Melville in recent weeks, has been at the club since he was an eight-year-old. Now 26, he has been an integral figure in Carlow's remarkable journey to a place among the elite.
He scored the first of his team's two tries on Saturday in a colossal individual performance. In the sanctuary of the dressingroom, he quietly reflected on the pressure-laden occasion. "All I feel is relief, just relief. It hasn't quite sunk in. We spoke beforehand about the previous 14 matches, that we'd experienced hard times for a while now but where we found ourselves was probably a fair reflection.
"There was no point in feeling sorry for ourselves. In the end we showed real character" - Brennan's reference to the injury-time try scored by flanker Liam O'Byrne, crucially converted by fullback Billy Murphy that transformed a six-point deficit into a 17-16 victory.
Ballymena, trailing 10-6 at the interval, scored two unconverted tries through left wing Paul Rodgers and excellent fullback Scott Young in the last seven minutes to thrust the visitors to within seconds of a win. Carlow, willed on by a boisterous 2,000 crowd, delivered the perfect riposte.
Brennan paid tribute to the cacophony of noise that drove tired minds and legs to one final effort. "Our supporters have been fantastic all season and that result was for them. Sometimes you think how they had been let down by the team this season. They deserve to be supporting a Division One club.
"We have travelled to Dooradoyle, Thomond Park and other places and there are no better supporters than the ones we have. The players recognised that we were tired saying what we were going to do; it was time to put up or shut up. We were going to drown with the ship if it was to go down.
"People in town, people I've never met before were coming up to wish the team good luck prior to the game. This means so much to the area. Carlow couldn't afford to take a backward step. I've enjoyed this season more than any other, pitting yourself against the best players and learning so much. I would have been gutted to lose that."
In deference to Ballymena it should be pointed out that three of their four Ireland under-21 internationals took some part in the match: Scott Young started at fullback while Neil McMillan came on at half-time and Brian Young figured in the second half. The Ulster club played with an integrity and commitment to winning the match. That they didn't is down to a little indiscipline and the rabid defiance of the Carlow defence, often inches from their own line.
The home side trailed to a brace of penalties from Ballymena outhalf Peter McIntosh to one from Murphy before Brennan was propelled over the line by his pack following a driven lineout on 25 minutes that Murphy converted.
Carlow won't care that their set-piece play was ragged for most of the match, that Ballymena looked the more potent and accomplished in possession. All that will be forgotten because victory on Saturday was about backbone, bottle and that smidgen of good fortune from which winners occasionally benefit.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 7 mins: McIntosh pen, 0-3; 13: Murphy pen, 3-3; 15: McIntosh pen, 3-6; 25: Brennan try, Murphy con, 10-6; 72: Rodgers try, 10-11; 77: Young try, 10-16; 81: O'Byrne try, Murphy con, 17-16.
CARLOW: B Murphy; M Buckley, M Waterhouse, R Armstrong, I Dwyer; P Jones, L Peavoy; P Brennan (capt), A Galavan, L Hannon; R Bolger, W Whitten; L O'Byrne, B Baggot, JJ Waddock. Replacements: S Collier for Armstrong (55 mins); J Roche for Baggot (58 mins); J Hannon for Galavan (65 mins); K Corrigan for L Hannon (68 mins); R Jones for Peavoy (76 mins).
BALLYMENA: S Young; J Wells, J Topping (capt), S McDowell, P Rodgers; P McIntosh, A Kettle; S McConnell, A Gamblin, W McAllister; P McBride, D O'Kane; A Graham, R Nelson, G Shaw. Replacements: N McKernan for McAllister (32 mins); N McMillan for Nelson (half-time); B Young for McConnell (58 mins); D Topping for Graham (58 mins); S McConnell for Young (inj, 63 mins; M McComish for Shaw (73 mins).
Referee: O Trevor (Munster).
