A STIRRING performance by St Gerard's ended in heartbreak as CUS stole victory with a last minute try in this thrilling first round encounter at Stradbrook yesterday.

The St Gerard's players were inconsolable when the referee blew the final whistle after CUS centre Gareth Pitcher drifted over his conversion of a Paul Flannery try from the left touchline.

The ball had been moved swiftly along the CUS backline before back row forward Flannery got the vital touchdown in the corner.

It had appeared inevitable that the winners would register a score of some sort after the interval as they put the losers under the cosh for the duration of the half.

It had been a different story in the first half as St Gerard's enjoyed the upper hand. Their territorial domination in the first quarter yielded an eight point, plead through a Costigan penalty in the sixth minute and a push over try from hooker Anthony Durkan nine minutes later.

CUS came back strongly and gave us a glimpse of what lay in store when they reduced the halftime deficit to three points with a sparkling try from full back Alan Duffy in the 20th minute.