The Ulster U16s suffered a 3-1 defeat against Leinster in this afternoon’s Interprovincial fixture at Comber Road.
The visitors had taken a 3-0 lead before a late Noah Cuddy penalty stroke rounded off the scoring in our penultimate Interpro fixture.
The first chance of the game fell for Leinster with just one minute on the clock. A forward was left unmarked in the circle before unleashing a good reverse strike, but goalkeeper Zak Larmour got a strong right hand to the effort to tip it over the crossbar.
The first Ulster chance came with 10 minutes on the clock when Josh Aiken’s ball into the circle found Josh Ferguson in the the goalmouth, but his first time effort went over the crossbar.
As the second period got underway, it was Leinster who got the opening goal of the game, converting from a penalty corner just moments after the restart.
The only chance of the quarter for Ulster came on the whistle for half-time.
The hosts were awarded a penalty corner, but Ethan Kilpatrick saw his effort go just wide of the near post as his side went into the halfway point 1-0 behind.
With 33 minutes played, Larmour was called into action once more as a visiting player was picked out at the back post before the goalkeeper made a great diving save to keep his side in the tie.
Midway through the quarter, the visitors doubled their lead to bring the scoreline to 2-0 as they converted from a penalty corner.
Just a minute later, Ulster went agonisingly close to grabbing a goal back as Carter Lunn cut in from the left flank before firing his effort from the top of the circle just wide of the far post.
However, the result was put beyond doubt when Leinster added a third goal with just two minutes remaining in the quarter.
The visitors were awarded a penalty corner and from the top of the circle, and picked out the bottom left corner with a well-executed drag flick.
As the game entered the closing stages, Ulster were awarded a late penalty stroke with captain Noah Cuddy converting from the spot to get a goal back for his side before the final whistle confirmed the 3-1 defeat.
The result also meant that Leinster were confirmed as U16 champions going into the final day of the competition.
PHOTO: Hockey Ireland