Fourths lose on the road Share
Ballymoney 3rds 25 BANBRIDGE 4THs 5November 19, 2011
Ballymoney started the brighter of the two teams in this Junior League game, and indeed had the better of the early confrontations up front. Their scrum was putting pressure on the Bann front five and from one such scrum Bann were penalised for early engagement, allowing the home side to take a three point lead. The Bann pack began to play more as a unit and with Kris Eadie and Stuart Forsythe making the hard yards Bann worked their way into the opposition “22”. From here Matthew Bird, standing in for the day at scrum-half, provided good quick ball to allow the Bann backs to move the ball and test the Ballymoney defence. The next 15 minutes saw the packs attempting to gain control of the match without success. However two further successful penalties from the Ballymoney kicker gave them a confidence boost. These scores were quickly followed by a try following a charge-down when the Bann full-back attempted to clear his lines. The Bann pack rallied and began to play their best rugby of the half. They were matching Ballymoney up front and were now winning more of the ball in the loose. However they suffered a set-back when they lost their lock, Andrew Marshall, with a knee injury. Bann needed to up their intensity due to now being a player down and that is exactly what they did. Further quick ball allowed Anthony Malloy to bring his threequarters into action and only a final pass which was judged slightly forward prevented skipper Stephen Jackson from scoring in the corner. Bann continued to press and with Geoff and David Little working together at a lineout, the pack were able to catch and drive over the line for their first score.