WALLACE HAT TRICK HELPS GIVE BALLYCLARE DERBY WIN
Ballyclare 1st XV made the short trip to Tom Simms Memorial Park on Saturday to play local rivals Carrick in a key Qualifying 2 game. In a match affected by a strong wind the Clare side maintained the momentum with another bonus point win 29-3 to stay ahead of Bangor in pole position. This game was a real success for hooker Craig Wallace with a trio of tries to add to his one against Larne–four in two games is good going especially against East Antrim opposition. For this match coach Bob Young had to make changes with Wallace in at hooker for Wylie and Nigel Moore in the second row for McKinstry plus Jackson returning in the centre. So really it was a case of the Clare pack operating with four flank forwards and each one showed up well throughout.
CARRICK 3 BALLYCLARE 29
After the recent narrow win away to Larne the Clare officials and supporters were wary of this local derby and in the first half Carrick,playing with a very strong wind on their backs did have chances with penalties but failed to make the best use of them. The home side made ground from the start and inside five minutes forced the visitors off side but Wilkinson failed to hit the target. Further pressure by Carrick was relieved by a good clearance from Morrow only for Wady to take play back into the Clare 22. Again Ballyclare were penalised and once more the home kicker was wide of the posts. The pressure was lessened as Logan drove upfield and Lawther kicked to half way. This enabled the Clare backs to make their first purposeful attacking run and Weatherup was halted well inside the home 22. The attack led to a penalty but a weakish strike by Byers even though it was into the wind took the ball just wide. Carrick came back as the visitors were penalised for not releasing and Wilkinson kicked to close to the Clare line. But a great take at the lineout by Rainey allowed Morrow to clear the danger. But another penalty to Carrick was not best used and Cusick and Jackson in the Clare midfield broke away with Laughlin stopped near the line. Carrick managed to recover and forced a penalty which this time was kicked by Wilkinson. The lead was shortlived as Rob Boyd broke into the home 22 and from the next lineout Wallce barged his way in for a try near the corner and Byers went close with a difficult conversion attempt into the wind so it was 5-3 to Ballyclare at the break.
It was expected that the astute Lawther would drive his team forward in the second half with wind assistance.Within miknutes following a powerful surge from Logan the Clare pack drove for the line and again it was Wallace who got he touchdown out wide to increase the lead. Next a neat chip through from Lawther had the visitors backs up to the Carrick line and good work from Rainey resulted in Wallace nipping over for the score but Byers was wide with the kick from a favourable position as the leaders went 15-3 ahead. Another positive run by Lawther saw the ball taken on by the industrious G.Weatherup and then Jackson broke away to go in from 40 metres and this time Byers added the points to lead 22-3. This brought the bonus point but the team had Wallace binned. The momentum was still with the White Hares and Lawther raced clear from just over half way for an impressive score as Byers kicked the conversion. Carrick lost centre Anderson injured and in another late Clare attack there was a player from each side binned with only a few minutes remaining. On the day this was a strong performance especially from each member of the Clare pack in both scrums and loose while Cusack and the returning Jackson gave Lawther a lot of support in midfield. Byers was a tad unlucky with at least two of his kicks and the score might have been greater.
Team -G.Byers;M.Weatherup,J.Jackson,S.Cusack,N.Laughlin;N.Lawther,C.Morrow;A.Boyd,C.Wallace,
R.Henderson,R.Boyd,N.Moore;G.Weatherup,M.Rainey,W.Logan.
CLARE SECONDS MAINTAIN GOOD RUN
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Ballyclare 2nd XV kept up their recent strong run with a 21-17 home win over Omagh 2nds which was not as close as the scoreline would suggest. Again coach Gareth Johnston had to make changes and was missing his regular half backs. Much of the play was scrappy even though the home pack did well in the set pieces. Following a good start the opening try came from a strong run by Paul Morrow with skipper Gillen addidg the points. Even though play was still rather scrappy the set scrums were excellent as hooker Wylie took no fewer than five strikes against the head. Omagh countered with a penalty to narrow the lead to 7-3 but Gillen kicked a penalty to go further ahead and near the interval made it 13-3 with another good strike.
In the second period the pack made ground for ian Holmes to get in for a try and then Gillen kicked another penalty for a clear cut 21-3 lead. However the Tyrone boys did not give up and worked their back into contention with a couple of scores to take it to 21-17. Much of the play in the second half was fragmented without pattern but the Seconds held on for the win. There were excellent performances from Clarke and Wylie in the pack along with Morrow in the backs but the team will need to lift their performance this weekend against a good Coleraine 2nds side in the Crawford Cup.
Ballyclare 3rds 0 Portadown 2nds 23 -This was always going to be a tough test for Mark Surgenor`s team as Portadown 1st XV are the top team in Qualifying 1 but on the day his side really lifted their game especially the front row of Tweed,Turner and Scott. There was a notably improvement against strong opponents who forced the pace in the first half to get three scores and a lead of 17-0. Manager and Captain Surgenor was not impressed by the referee at times and as he is a former whistler he was aware of what should have been decided but the Ports deserved their lead. The home chances came from penalties but Baine was just off target. In the second half a lot of gutsy play by the pack only allowed the visitors in for a single try to add to the total. There was a fine performance from Steven Beasant returning to scrum half after injury and the side looks ahead to this week`s cup tie.
Ophir 2nds 12 Ballyclare 4ths 72 -The Fourths travelled up to the Cottonmount to find that Ophir could only field eleven men so the pointsere awarded to the Clare team and a couple of players were “loaned ” to Ophir and a friendly played. Th eupshot was a very one sided affaair with tries for Colin Agnew (4);John McDonald (2),Gareth Smith (3),Trevor Clarke,Neil Fox and Darren Montgomery plus six conversions from John Wasson. One of the few memorable facts was that the try for Darren Montgomery was his fifth one in five games -not bad for a prop forward!
Youth Team Results v Ballymoney -Under 13 Xv lost 38-14; Under 15 Xv won comfortably; Under 17XV lost 37-12
Saturdays Fixtures -1st XV v Grosvenor F.P. (away)-This will be a tight test for the Clare team and again it is vital that a good crowd of supporters are on the touchline to give vocal assistance. 2nd Xv vColeraine 2nds (home ); 3rd Xv vQueens 3rds (home) -Both of these two games are in the Crawford Cup and the teams will also appreciate support.
