Ballymoney open with a win

Ballymoney welcomed Kukri Q2 rivals Enniskillen to Kilraughts Road for an early pre-season friendly. With both sides missing a few players due to holidays, weddings, and other commitments, both sides’ coaches were looking to assess the depth of their squads at this point in the year.

The home side, having had some tough choices to trim the 45-man training squad down to a slightly more manageable 30, were able to call on the services of new signings Adam Smith at prop, and coach James Carson had a run around to get closer acquainted to his new charges.

Also stepping up were Andrew Young, Gary Pattison, and Andrew Wisener from schools and U-18 duty. And with older faces like James Cleland and Jonny Hanna returning after missing last season, there was much to look forward to.

In the crowd lining the back pitch, the rugby-starved regulars were bolstered by the rest of the squad, plus some of the Coleraine squad also scouting out two league rivals. Both sides set their stalls out early, looking to gain a series of possession, and strike with some width.

The home side had the best of the early breaks, with both Knight and McAuley in the centres making early line breaks.
As the match progressed in twenty minute sessions, the changes were quite disruptive for both sides as an attacking force.

In the third period Ballymoney sent a squad with 14 players aged 21 or under, ably marshaled by David Calvin, and they duly resisted everything that Skins could throw at them, without being able to threaten too much in attack..
With two young Noahs watching with their dads, it was perhaps expected that some Biblical weather would come into play - one particularly strong downpour forced many of the local animals to seek shelter two by two! Fortunately it soon passed, and some heavenly sunshine allowed the match to flow better in the later stages.

Ballymoney managed to create breaks throughout the game – early on through Knight and Watson, until both went off with niggling injuries, and later through Gary Pattison, having a lively debut on the wing. Simon McCrea danced around a few tackles from full back like a lizard on hot stones, and up front Stuart Mulholland showed that he has put some donkey work in whilst away studying in Glasgow by skipping through a few tackles - and only once illegally! Russell Blair was just as keen to show his running ability, and duly cantered through a gap like a hungry giraffe, only to be cut down and pick up a knock to his knee in the process.

Tries came early on for Knight, then David McKeeman wriggled over, and Kyle McAuley towards the end – giving a solid win on the scoreboard over the visiting side. The new coaches of Carson, Beggs, and Cochrane were very pleased to keep Enniskillen off the scoreboard.

Summing up a win, and a good run around for many of the squad, Carson said afterwards “Our attitude was first class, but we know we still have a lot of work to do for the start of the season. The coaching staff was very pleased today.”

This week sees a quick turnaround, with training on Tuesday to shake off some knocks, and then Limavady are up next on Thursday night. More of the squad will look to get some game time, and the coaches will be looking to build on the defense and set piece, and work some more incisive thrusts into the game in attack.