All-Ireland Super League
BELFAST Star head to Killester at the weekend knowing that they will need to improve on their first half performance against Tralee Warriors if they are to pick up the points in Dublin.

Despite firing into a five-point lead within seconds of the tip-off in Tralee, Star then suffered a 19-0 Tralee run that should have signalled the end of the contest.

But, as they showed in their home win over Templeogue in the season opener, this young Star side are already showing they are made of stern stuff.

At 17 points down mid-way through the first, Star finally began to get their defensive game going with both Delaney Blaylock and Keelan Cairns beginning to impress.

Going through the second, the sides were nip and tuck for the most part with Star finding it tough to make significant inroads against the more physically dominant Warriors.

The start of the third saw a big surge from Star to big the game back to ten points as both defences dominated in a low-scoring quarter.

But if the packed home stadium thought the game was already in the bag, their nerves were rattled in the fourth with Blaylock, Cairns, CJ Fulton and Liam Pettigrew leading the visitor fightback to bring the game back to just four points with 90 seconds to go.

The watching Belfast fans sensed a comeback to rival that of the Star recovery against Templeogue the previous week, but the Kerry side rode their luck in the final minute to eventually make the game safe and see out a 93-86 win.

Star head coach Adrian Fulton was again pleased with the performance of a side that is still gelling.

“Yes, I think we are maybe a couple of games away from where we want to be as a unit,” he admitted.

“Having said that, we are still awaiting the return of Dominic Lynn and Conor Johnston so that will make us considerably stronger going forward.

“But the lads again showed really great resolve to come back into this game and nearly get there in the end given the extent of the deficit we faced at one stage.”

Top scorers for Star were Delaney Blaylock on 28, CJ Fulton on 17 and Keelan Cairns on 15.

Next up, Star travel to Killester this weekend before playing host to Maree in La Salle on Saturday, October 12.