Armoy RFC took to the Limepark pitch on Saturday to face Ophir RFC in their first encounter of the qualifying sections of the Ulster league.
Unfortunately, it was a lack of training and match experience combined with a few loose passes and kicks that were charged down that meant the visitors ran out as the victors with a score of 34 – 8.
Armoy were however dominant in the set pieces and the new rules for the league they play in meant the scrum was able to push the Ophir pack around the park with hooker Ally Bartlett taking three strikes against the head.
The Armoy lineout also performed well; despite having limited number of players that jump for the ball on the day, Captain Barry Taggart was able to mix up the jumping options and took it upon himself to win the majority of the Armoy throw in’s and spoil the oppositions ball as well.
It was in the broken play that Armoy had their lack of training and match practice exploited. Quick penalties taken by Ophir, intercepted passes and a clearance kick that was charged down by an oncoming Ophir wing-forward were all contributing factors to the winning score.
The Armoy points came by way of a penalty from Barry Kelly and a try from winger Mark McConaghie.
Despite the early defeat, there is plenty for the Armoy team to build on and with the league structure meaning they will play Ophir two more times before the end of the season plenty of time to rectify the loss.
Captain Barry Taggart asked that all players attend training on Wednesday night to work on the errors and build on the good points that were shown in the match.
Next week is a milestone match for the newly rectified Power NI Armoy Second Team as they take on the PSNI in the first of their league games. All supporters will be more than welcome with a kick off at Limepark at 2.30pm.
The club would like to thank all players and supporters at the Ophir game for attending and also pay a special mention to CT Sports in Coleraine for the provision of the match ball and new sponsor Bush Valley Produce who provided the excellent tasting chips for the after dinner meal.
