Strong Ballynahinch side defeat Carrick in league

Carrick were completely overwhelmed in the first half, conceding five tries by the half hour mark although they managed to stop the free-flowing scoring of Ballynahinch for the last 10 minutes.

The home side started badly, conceding a try virtually from the kick-off and for the first half-hour their defence was porous to say the least as they conceded four more tries and a penalty goal.

However, as they tightened up on their defence and, in particular, began to make their first tackles count, Ballynahinch’s strategy of running hard at defenders stopped producing results.

Carrick’s defence held firm for the most of the second half and the home side managed a try of their own inside 10 minutes of the restart.

Carrick put the Ballynahinch scrum under pressure for once and Chris Ferris picked up to drive into the heart of the visitor’s defence.

When the ball was recycled, Carrick had a two on one and Johnny Sheriff made the most of it to wrong-foot his marker and get in at the corner.

Carrick continued to defend well but tired toward the end of the game and it was not until the 68th minute that Ballynahinch were able to add to their score with a try off the back of five metre scrum.

As the defensive effort took its toll on Carrick, the visitors scored again in the closing minutes.

For Carrick scrum-half Kenny Topping, making his debut, played bravely and with skill, Ross Marsden and Chris Ferris carried and tackled with commitment.

While, on the few occasions they got the ball, Johnny Sheriff and Jason Wady showed their attacking talents.

Carrick will want to put this result behind them and get ready for Qualifying League action once again. They have no match this week but face rivals Ballyclare at home on December 8.

Team v Ballynahinch: C. Wallace, A. Moore, K. Quinn, J. Wady, K. Love, J. Sheriff, K. Topping, E. Peacock (A. Gibney), N. Hannah, R.Williams, A. Kincaid (captain), D. Smith, C. Ferris, R. Marsden, C. Rea (R. Crymble).

Meanwhile, Ballyclare Rugby Club’s 2nd XV came out on top in the local derby with their Carrick counterparts at Tom Simms Memorial Park.

Despite finishing with only 13 men because of injuries, the visitors emerged with a 32-5 victory.

Carrick’s Under-19s lost by 32 points to 31 in a very tight encounter with Ballymena. The Carrick scorers were Dean Henderson, Johnny Moore (2), Peter Magill and John Magill. Johnny Moore added three conversions.

Fixtures (Saturday, December 1):

2nd XV v Clogher Valley II, home

3rd XV v Limavady II, home

4th XV v Ards IV, home.