Under par 17s score eight past 'Money Share
Ballymoney 3 BANBRIDGE U17s 50October 15, 2011
The conditions were far from ideal for this game but by the time kick-off came around the rain had eased a little. Bann played into a strong wind in the first half. Ballymoney took to the field with only 13 players and it took nearly 13 minutes for Bann to expose the overlaps on the wings. Two converted tries later Ballymoney made their numbers up to 14. The only answer Ballymoney had was to keep the ball tight & maul whenever possible, but Banns defence held strong with great performances from Timmy Savage and Adam Copes. Bann still made heavy work of the game, playing into the hands of a useful Ballymoney team, taking contact and not using their superior numbers. It took a lineout five metres from their own line for the team to click and run a move off the training paddock, which led to a try being run in without Ballymoney getting a touch of the ball. The ball was kept alive with runners off shoulders and passes into space. Ballymoney players couldn’t get near the ball. This try under the posts, just before half time, was the killer blow that seemed to end the Ballymoney challenge. In the second half it was more of the same. Bann moved the ball and played the territory game, running out convincing winners. Richard Graham and Ben Cross had two tries apiece, and other touchdowns came from Jonny Adams, Josh Coyle, Macauley Little and Kenneth Wiltshire, with Little adding five conversions. Regardless of the scoreline, this was a below par performance. Improvement will be needed for the bigger challenges ahead, starting with Ballynahinch on Saturday.