A nightmare ten minute spell after half-time proved to be the difference between the sides when Ballymena beat Rainey Old Boys 24-12 in the Ulster League at Eaton Park.
Having fared well against the breeze to turn round only 7-5 in arrears,Rainey made a succession of costly errors which left them facing an uphill battle.Some excellent scrummaging from the pack enabled them to hang on and gradually make a contest of it and a late try was no more than they deserved.
Both clubs clearly had one eye on this week’s fixtures when they selected their starting line-ups for this game.While Ballymena entertain Munster Cup winners Cork Constitution in the semi-final of the Bateman Cup,Rainey will be going all-out to extend their winning run in the AIL.
Ballymena threw the ball about in a confident start,but it was Rainey who drew first blood with a try after nine minutes.When a Ballymena move broke down in the Rainey half,the loose ball was worked wide to Clarke who crossed halfway before kicking ahead.And from the ensuing scrum,No. 8 Dawson,returning after a long absence,forced his way over.Ballymena out-half Drysdale then had Clarke scrambling back to save the day when he made a lovely break from his own 22′ before kicking ahead into space.Minutes later,Ballymena went ahead with a catch and drive try from Mc Kay,converted by Drysdale
Careless Ballymena handling in midfield gave Rainey the chance to find a promising field position in the corner,but the home side broke out in style with wing Stirling forced into touch on the Rainey 10′.While Drysdale and Irwin put in some telling kicks for Ballymena,Rainey struggled in this department and found themselves on the receiving end for a spell.A misfiring lineout continues to frustrate Rainey,but their scrummaging was first rate throughout and brought them back into the picture.Flanker Burns got on the end of a Martin chip and then Barker initiated an attack on halfway which saw wing Campbell break into the Ballymena 22′ with support arriving at the breakdown.Ballymena had a let-off in time added on when Martin’s kick from 40 yards fell just short..
A catalogue of individual errors,allied to some weak tackling,helped Ballymena to run riot after the break,tries from playmaker Drysdale,Smyth and Small taking the score to 24-5.It could have got a lot worse as Balymena piled on the pressure from three close range penalties,but the Old Boys refused to wilt with their scrummage dominance helping them to survive this sticky patch.
The last fifteen minutes belonged to Rainey with Simpson,Rutledge and Barker taking them forward,but the vital accuracy was lacking until Barker broke round the front of a lineout to send hooker Donaghy over in the corner,O’Connor converting.Rutledge and Lamberton showed up well as they moved the ball about in the Ballymena 22′,but a long pass missed the target to bring to a close an entertaining game.
TEAM : R.Lamberton,A.Campbell,M.Mc Clelland,J.Cassidy,A.Clarke,G.Martin,S.Simpson,S.Rutledge,S.Sufferin,N.O’Kane,P.Boyle,T.Barker,T.Burns,S.Hawe,D.Dawson.
REPLACEMENTS : M.O’Connor ( Campbell 40 ) A.Harbinson ( Dawson 50 ) K.Donaghy ( Sufferin 50 ) R.Hall ( Boyle 65 )
RAINEY O.B. 3 67-7 COLERAINE 3
Second placed Rainey O,B. 3 ran in eleven tries in beating bottom club Coleraine 3 by 67-7 at Hatrick Park.Even without a few regulars,Rainey were always in control and had the points in the bag by half-time when they led 24-7.
Eight of their tries came from the backs – full-back P.O’Neill 3,centre C.Moran 2,out-half K.Irvine 2 and wing D.Johnston.Hooker S.Beattie picked up two, with second-row C.O’Kane claiming the other.Moran added six conversions.
RAINEY FIXTURES – 19 JAN.
1st XV v BOYNE home
3rdXV v OMAGH 3 away
4th XV v PORTADOWN 5 away
BACK TO AIL BUSINESS
After the festive break,it’s back to business for teams in Division 2 B.A particularly testing period lies ahead for Rainey as they attempt to build on a five point lead.With eight games remaining,they face some tricky fixtures,both home and away.But the same can be said for the chasing pack with several of them due to meet in the next few weeks.And Rainey have already taken the important scalps of Nenagh and Barnhall.
Boyne come to Hatrick Park on Saturday and anyone who attended last season’s game in Drogheda will recall the brilliance of the Boyne backs.It took a superb second half display from the Rainey pack to swing that contest in their favour.The Leinster side have only lost once and have,by all accounts,a very big pack,so there could be fireworks at Meadowbanks on Saturday afternoon.Apart from Stewart Mc Dowell and Conor O’Neill,Rainey could have a full hand to select from.But with some just returning from injury,a lack of match practice could be a problem
On 26 January,Rainey travel to Naas who have also only lost once.Rainey have yet to taste victory at Forenaughts and a win there would set them up for their away games with Navan and Armagh,who will be full of confidence after away victories over Dungannon and Ballymena at Christmas.Rainey face Munster opposition in the shape of Thomond and Clonakilty in their last two games,both at home.
DIVISION 2 B games this week : Ards v Naas Clonakilty v Navan Connemara v Sligo Barnhall v Instonians Nenagh v Thomond Sunday’s Well v Skerries Suttonians v Armagh
