Enniskillen 2XV (Away) Vs Ballymena 3XV
Enniskillen 2nd XV made the long journey to Ballymena last Saturday and with several players missing they travelled with a combination of 2nd and 3rd players, which brought a mixture of experience and youth.
Enniskillen started off the game with great intent of playing a high aggression, running game. This was lead by the experienced quintet of Willis, McGarry, Grey, Connor and Wright. These five set the tone for what was to be a great game of rugby.
After many phases of pressure, Enniskillen got its just reward with new out half Ben Parkinson going over in the corner and, in a very blustery Ballymena, was well converted by full-back for the day, Zack Charlton.
For the next 40 minutes, Enniskillen dominated the game with Ballymena getting a rare glimpse of the ball. This was well shepherded by Enniskillen’s back line which was well marshalled by Paul Burns.
In the last 10 minutes, Ballymena managed to unleash their experience back line to score in the corner, leaving them leading by a single point.
Enniskillen hit back straight away with some great carrying from the pack to get a penalty in front of the Ballymena posts. This left Enniskillen leading by 2 points. Unfortunately for Skins this was not to be the end of the scoring for the day.
Ballymena showed the experience of their side with one final attack against the Enniskillen line. Enniskillen conceded a penalty in front of their posts and this was to be the last scoring opportunity of the day which Ballymena did not squander and took the 3 points to snatch a cruel one point victory for a final score of 14-13 against the industrious Enniskillen side.
Captain Alan Ferguson was focused on the number of positives to take from the game which was a real testament to the character of the team.
“They’re a great bunch of lads and they put in a superb effort today to play running rugby against a very good side. With more hard work, the results will change. I know the rest of the season holds great results ahead.”
