Ballymoney 2s secure convincing win against Enniskillen

After last week's excellent performance at home to Bangor, the 2s took to the road with the 1sts in a double header away to Enniskillen.

Once the cobwebs from a long journey were shaken off, the Ballymoney forwards started to dominate, with front row of Anderson, Heggarty, and Clyde on top in the scrums and carrying well in the loose. And after 10 minutes the scrum pressure told, allowing Jack Alexander to burrow over from number 8 to open the scoring, and Chris Watson converted.

However, Enniskillen were quickly on the attack up the hill, and after a period of pressure and away penalties, managed to score in the corner. The conversion was missed, leaving the score 5-7 - and an injury to Ballymoney co-captain Neal Mulholland meant his game was over, replaced by Harry Orr.

With good control from Matthew Steele at scrum half, the Toon side had to work hard to break down a stubborn Skins defensive line. Eventually the next try came from a set piece - off the scrum Watson delayed his pass perfectly to send Brown clear between the centres and under the posts - and then converted.

The next try came quickly - from a ruck on the left, Steele saw space up the blind side and darted through, drawing the full back and putting Robbie McNeill in for his try. Watson again got the extras for a 21-5 lead and a bit of daylight.

As half time neared, the dominant scrum again paid off with a turnover, as Alexander picked up and drove on, finding Orr who charged through but got hauled down just short of the line - but his composure allowed time to find Linton, who put Brown in for his second try. With the conversion missed it left the game at 26-5 at the break.

Playing up the hill in the second half, Ballymoney knew that hard work would pay off, but any lapses would be punished by their hosts. And it was indeed after a huge effort from the away forwards close to the line that the next score came. Good carries from Millar, McAuley, and Lowry drew in the defenders, allowing Steele to spot a gap and wriggle over from a couple of yards out.

That try would open the gates, Alexander getting his second try with a pick up from a scrum 15m out and blasting through the defense to score.

Shortly afterwards the backs got in the action again - a long ball from Watson putting Lewis Hawthorne through on the left, then after a few phases Watson himself burst through the line on the right, showing his class. An illegal challenge was penalised and from the quick tap Harry Orr squeezed over for the try.

Orr was on the scoresheet shortly after - again with a period of Ballymoney forward pressure, this time Enniskillen looked to have turned the ball over, but Orr was on hand to rip the ball back from the defender and twist his way over the line next to the posts.

With a really dominant second half performance, it was left to Aaron Brown to close out the game with his third try. Adam Hodges, back on for Watson in midfield, took the ball into contact and got the offload out to Brown, who charged through the gap and beat the covering defenders to touch down. Hawthorne converted for a final tally of 61-5.

After such a strong performance co-captain Linton summed up the game. "We were delighted to put on such a strong performance against a solid Enniskillen side, who are always hard to break down. While it's hard to pick out individuals when everyone played well, today I thought Matthew Steele was excellent in controlling the game from 9, and all of the forwards really put a shift in to get on top of the opposition."

Next week sees the start of the Crawford Cup campaign for the 2nd XV, away to Queen's.