Highfield 8 Ballymena 40
Highfield’s repeated attempts to stop Ballymena winning quick ruck ball incurred the wrath of the referee to the extent that they gave away four penalties, all converted by Tim Small, and had two players consigned to the sinbin in the first twenty minutes. The first half was dominated by Ballymena, playing with the breeze, and towards the end of it Ricky Andrews scored a fine individual try, which Small converted to give Ballymena what looked like a comfortable 19-0 lead at the break. The second half began with a Highfield onslaught on the Ballymena line, which yielded an unconverted try and a penalty, and the game had taken on a different aspect. Ballymena’s defence held firm, however, and they were rewarded when Tim Small latched onto to a Highfield mistake to hack through and score a try which he converted. After that Ballymena reasserted themselves, and converted tries by Connor Smyth and Ricky Andrew, another brilliant solo effort, put the issue beyond doubt, leaving the final score at 40-8. Two bonus point wins put Ballymena at the top of the table.
