On Saturday, Ballymoney 1XV made the journey to Judges Road for their first League game since their promotion to Q1 at the end of last season. Off the back of a positive winning pre-season campaign, the Toon men were without several key players and called upon Robbie McNeill and Aaron Brown, with Jordan Munnis also making his return to the 1XV. Ballymoney were on the back foot from the off with an early converted try from Derry but managed to keep them within their sights. Sustained pressure in the final few minutes of the game failed to translate into a score for Ballymoney and the final score was 41-27.
Reflecting on the game coach Andy Graham said, “We are disappointed not to get the win but, all things considered a losing bonus point isn’t the worst outcome – for various reasons we were missing nearly a team of players.
We did lots of good things and could have won but for a few individual errors and inexperience which gifted Derry some of their scores. There’s plenty of positives to take away from the game.
I certainly feel optimistic that we can compete and I’m excited to play our first Home game this Saturday against Cooke. It will be a huge test for us but one we are really looking forward to.”