Having not played last week Armagh made the journey to Ballymena for this Ulster league fixture. Ballymena on the other hand were buoyed by their recent senior cup final win against Rainey and clearly were going into this game as firm favourites.
The game kicked off with the threat of rain from the dark overcast conditions although the playing surface was in remarkably good condition considering the rain that fell earlier in the day. The first 10 minutes belonged to no side and was catalogued by a series of largely unforced errors with neither side being able to dominate. On 11 minutes the Armagh pack were penalised for not rolling away at the ruck. The Ballymena full back stepped up and duly dispatched the ball between the sticks leaving the score 3 nil to the home side. CLICK HERE to like Nick Williams facebook page and share
The game continued much as before although Armagh were now starting to show greater urgency and were beginning to dominate the opposition in both tight and loose play. This endeavour was rewarded when Armagh were awarded a penalty just inside the Ballymena half. The Armagh out half, Dylan Ferreira stepped up and slotted his kick home to level the scores at 3 each.
Both sides then entered a kicking dual which once again ensured that most of the play was between either 22 metre line. After a series of good Armagh scrums and line outs Ballymena were awarded a further penalty on 31 minutes. Once again their fullback was successful with the conversion leaving Ballymena 6-3 in the lead. Some 3 minutes later Armagh worked a good backline move but unfortunately the ball was knocked on with the try line in sight. As the clock wore down to half time Armagh were awarded a penalty which Richard Reaney dispatched to the Ballymena 22. Armagh won the resultant line out and mauled the ball toward the opposition try line. The ball was eventually released to the Armagh scrum half Harry Doyle who stepped inside the cover defence to score the try. The resultant conversion was successful leaving the half time score 10-6 to the visitors.
The second half continued in much the same fashion as the first with Ballymena enjoying the early territory and possession. On 7 minutes this was rewarded with yet another penalty for Armagh not rolling away at the ruck. Once again Ballymena were successful and closed the score to 10-9 to the visitors. Further Ballymena efforts were thwarted by a very determined Armagh defence who were now starting to gain a degree of ascendancy especially at scrum time. On 22 minutes Armagh were awarded a further penalty but on this occasion the kick was unsuccessful. Some 2 minutes later Armagh once again executed an exciting back line move only for the ball once again to be knocked on with the line insight,
Entering the last 10 minutes Armagh were still playing most of the rugby although Ballymena still looked capable of securing a result. On 27 minutes Richard Reaney slotted over a drop goal thus increasing Armaghs lead to 13-9. For the next 5 minutes Ballymena laid siege to the Armagh line. However, stoic defence by the Armagh fifteen ensured their line was not crossed. As the final whistle neared Armagh were awarded a further penalty stretching their lead to 16-9.
This was a good performance from Armagh against a team that ply their normal trade 2 divisions above them. Whilst the game was not a spectacle Armagh were deserved winners and Ballymena can have absolutely no complaints about the final outcome. The pack in particular stood up to a bigger more physical unit and the front row dominated their more vaunted opposition. Armagh played with more intensity and vigour and thoroughly deserved this hard earned win. The bottom line is Armagh wanted the win more than Ballymena and must carry this mind set forward especially when they resume All Ireland fixtures in late January.
