The Royal Belfast Academical Institution booked their spot in the McCullough Cup Tier 1 Final when they beat Wallace High School 3-0 yesterday afternoon.
Two goals from Jacob McIlhatton and a strike from Bruce MacDonlad sealed the win which will see the reigning champions face either Sullivan Upper or Banbridge Academy.
The first chance of the game came with a little over five minutes played when Jacob McIlhatton picked up the ball on the edge of the circle before flashing his reverse strike just wide of the far post.
The side were soon awarded the first penalty corner of the tie when Josh Gill found a foot inside the circle before he was denied by the outstretched leg of the Wallace goalkeeper.
With the first quarter approaching an end, Wallace had their best chance of the game as Leo Benson played Dylan McKinstry down the right wing before he flashed a ball across the face of the RBAI goalmouth, but couldn’t find a teammate as it remained 0-0.
The RBAI pressure continued into the second quarter when they won consecutive penalty corners, the first of which saw Matthew McKnight make a good save to deny Riley Marney before Ant Spence picked Josh Gill’s effort off the line.
In the third period, Spence was again called into action as he picked Bruce MacDonald’s drag flick off the line to keep the tie goalless.
However, with 40 minutes on the clock, RBAI finally got the opening goal of the game when Robbie McAreavey picked out McIlhatton just inside his own half before the forward led the counter-attack.
Breaking beyond the Wallace defence, he found himself 1v1 with the goalkeeper before scoring with an impressive finish from a tight angle.
With six minutes remaining in the tie, McIlhatton struck once more, picking the ball up on the Wallace goalline before his effort took a deflection off a defender’s stick before doubling his sides lead.
Just moments later, the McCullough Cup reigning champions won another penalty corner and this time Wallace were unable to do anything about it as Bruce MacDonald picked out the top corner with his drag flick to seal a 3-0 win for his side.
PHOTO: Front Row Union