Ballymena Under 15s too strong for Ballymoney

The boys were also determined to avenge a defeat by Ballymoney in an early season friendly. With league points now at stake Ballymena lost no time in getting at their opposition. Following some strong defensive work by Miskelly and Bacha the ball broke to ouhalf Crooks.

His clever pass saw the ball move to Arron George who sprinted clear of the Ballymoey defence to cross for his first try of the game.

Scrum half Kerr spotted a gap and made a dart into the opponents half. His accurate pass was collected by Scott who drove forward before getting the ball to inside centre McNeill, he rounded the last defender to score in the corner.

New full back Fyfe showed he relished the opportunity to run and following a long drop out from Ballymoney it was his strong run which released Gilkinson who touched down for the third try of the game.

In the second half, man of the match Bacha again led a strong charge through the Ballymoney pack before releasing Getty who surged across the line to increase the boys’ lead.

Substitute scrum half Jonathon Crooks provided his twin brother Simon with a perfect pass. Simon took the pass on the run to beat the covering defence and score under the posts.

The ever impressive Jennings playing for the first time at open side flanker piled on the agony for Ballymoney scoring two excellent tries to complete the 42-0 rout which takes them to second spot in the league.

UNDER-17

The Under 17s were unlucky to lose in a tight match which saw one score split the teams.

Having lost outhalf McNeill prior to kick off the re-shaped back line appeared to be coping well only for bad luck to strike again.

Outside centre Crawford made what appeared to be an excellent tackle on a Ballymoney player who had sprinted clear. However it soon became clear that all was not well and he had to be taken to hospital with a dislocated shoulder.

This further blow meant another reshuffle and Ballymoney took advantage of the initial uncertainty to score a disputed try. Having sprinted clear the Ballymoney player appeared to lose control of the ball prior to regaining possession and touching it down. The referee however did not see the knock on and awarded the try which was to prove decisive.

Ballymena had the better of the second half but with the loss of their creative players in the back line they found it difficult to get the decisive play which would turn the game as the match finished 7-0.

Ballymoney were excellent hosts and after the match both Ballymena teams were treated to hot dogs and drinks with the players of both teams mixing and chatting about the earlier matches.