Toon edge Larne to maintain unbeaten start

The JKC BMW Sponsored Ballymoney RFC 1st XV returned to league action after their Junior Cup win last week to play Larne at Kilraughts Road. With both teams being in recent try scoring form it was predicted that this was going to be an entertaining game and despite the poor weather the game lived up to its prediction with Ballymoney over coming a nail biting finish to earn a bonus point win 33-27 and secure another vital 5 league points.
The game was kicked off in wet conditions but fortunately although the rain was heavy there was only a small breeze. Ballymoney stormed into the lead within the first 5 minutes with a try from Andrew Stevenson who was making his 1st XV debut in the second row. Andrew worked hard to stay in support of a Thomas Hunter break who made 40 meters and off loaded out of the tackle for the ball to drop into the arms of the oncoming Stevenson to barge over the line. Cleland made no mistake with the conversion and Ballymoney lead 7-0.
Ballymoney had a number of changes with Neil Mulholland starting also in the second row due to unavailability of Michael Allan and James Bleakly. In the backs Andrew Young and Nathanial Steele were also unavailable and Nigel Nevin had to withdraw mid-week due to an ankle injury. This resulted in Michael Armstrong and new signings Chris Hughes and Rory Strang being called up into the squad.
It was Michael Armstrong who made the next impact on the game. Larne were using the kick to good effect by trying to play as much rugby in the Ballymoney half as possible as the falling rain started to get heavier. From a return kick by Cleland, Ballymoney chased the kick well and a turnover was moved through the phases until Irwin made the best of an overlap on the blind with a flat pass to Armstrong who showed good pace and foot work to score in the corner. Cleland conversion from wide out hit the post but Ballymoney now lead 12-0 with 20 minutes played.
The next 10 minutes seen an exchange of penalty kicks first from Cleland and then Larne and finally Cleland again to give Ballymoney an 18-3 lead coming into the end of the half.
Larne were starting to through caution literally to the wind and again a long up and under was sent to the sky. This time it paid off as the ball was spilled and Larne chased up in numbers to gather the ball and see them crash over at the post for a converted score to send them into the break at 18-10 behind.
Ballymoney knew the next score would be vital and within 10 minutes of the half Ballymoney pressure paid off with a steel at the line out by McKeeman allowing McAneaney to pounce on the loose ball. The forwards took control and after a few phases scrum half Steele found captain McFetridge on a hard line which allowed him to break the defence and dive over the line to score. Cleland again added the extra 2 points to give Ballymoney breathing space extending their lead to 25-10.
Again both Larne and Ballymoney exchanged penalties to take the score to 28-13 with 30mintues remaining. Ballymoney were now starting to find space in the Larne defence and there were breaks form Steele, Irwin, Strang and Hunter but sometimes the final ball didn’t go to hand. A break from Steele took play into the Larne 22 and after a drive from the forwards Steele used the forward runners to put Irwin through a gap in the line for him to touch down for Ballymoney bonus point try. The conversion was missed but Ballymoney now lead 33-13 with a quarter of the game to play.
Larne kicked the ball deep after a penalty for a Ballymoney high tackle. Ballymoney stopped the initial lineout drive but after some good forward procession an inside ball from the alert Larne scum half caught Ballymoney defence sleeping for them to run in a try. The conversion was successful but the gap was closed now to 33-20 with 15 minutes left.
Ballymoney still went on the offensive and again some line breaks kept the game loose. A turnover from Ramage allowed the ball to be moved along the backs. The greasy ball slipped from the grasp of a Ballymoney player as they were 15metres out and fell into the arms of Larne. With nobody at home the Larne 9 showed great pace to race in from 80 metres to score a converted try. With 10 minutes remaining the finger nails of the Ballymoney supporters were now starting to be chewed as the score was now 33-27.
With a few minutes left another break from Strang after a great gather of a high Larne kick saw the outhalf pass to McKeeman and just as the flanker was about to release the ball to Hunter to race in, an excellent cover tackle from Larne centre resulted in a knock on. From the scrum on the Larne 22 the ball was moved along the backs and they took play to Ballymoney 10m line. Several good drives from the forwards kept the ball moving but play was stopped for an injury to Larne number 6 who had to leave the field. The game restarted with a scrum to Larne and the hardworking Larne No8 picked and made inroads into Ballymoney’s 22. Again several forward drives took Larne close to the line as they looked for the winning score. Just as the Toon supports had no nails left a turnover from Captain McFetridge and Mulholland gave possession back to Ballymoney. Steele was able to put boot to ball and kick it out of play for the final whistle to sound and Ballymoney breathe a sigh of relief.
Maine Gym Man of the Match: Matthew Steele
1st XV Squad: M. Blair, P. Irvine, A. Brown, N. Mulholland, A. Stevenson, D. Ramage, D. McKeeman, J. McFetridge (c), M. Steele, M. Irwin, M. Armstrong, C. Hughes, T. Hunter, C. Watson, J. Cleland, K. McAneaney, R. Strang
Coaches Comments: After the game, Manager Chris McIlmoyle stated “We started really well today and lead the whole game. We were 20points in the lead with about 25 minutes left but great credit to the Larne team they never gave up. We conceded some soft scores down to errors with the dropped kick and interception pass which let them into the game. However the guys showed some good spirit to hold on at the end and seal the win. We again showed some good play in attack and probably should have had another couple of scores near the end of put the game out of reach. We had a few unavailable today but the guys that came in did really well. Chris Hughes was strong in defence and carried well, Andrew Stevenson worked hard all day and along with Michael Armstrong capped off their starting selection with a try. Rory Strang had a very good impact in the second half with some excellent gathering of the high ball and some great distribution and deceive running. With these guys added to the squad and the guys we have returning we look forward to the games next week. Seclection has been tough to call and the numbers at training have been good so it will be another tough call after training this Tuesday night.
The 1st XV are away to Omagh 2nd XV in the conference league while the 2nd XV look to add to the win they had on Saturday with a good performance at home to Enniskillen 2s in the league.
All support would be appreciated to watch the 2nd XV maintain their unbeaten start to the league against Enniskillen 2nd XV at Kilraughts road on Saturday. Kick off 2.30pm