BALLYMONEY ....................................... 7
ENNISKILLEN ...................................... 15
Enniskillen booked their place in the Junior Cup quarter-finals with a hard-fought win over the newly promoted Ballymoney side, coming from behind to do so.
Ballymoney scored their try after ten minutes to take a seven point lead, but it could very easily have been 'Skins with the opening score with just four minutes played.
Mattie Maguire made a great break, slicing through the home defence, but unfortunately lost his footing with just one man to beat and with it the chance to open the scoring. Ballymoney then enjoyed the better of the game for the next 15 minutes during which they took that lead.
The home side centre was looking dangerous in possession and prior to the opening score made a break, taking play from one "22" to the other. A defensive clearance from Enniskillen then fell to the full-back, who switched play to the right-hand side of the field where Jimmy Moore did well to stop his opposite number. The ball was recycled and play came back across the field where the centre finished off the move with a try wide out, which was converted.
Ballymoney then almost capitalised on an error by Chris Maguire, after the young full-back let a high kick bounce just outside his "22". The bounce favoured the home side, as the winger put on the gas to win the ball.
Only some great defensive work in the shadow of their own posts created pressure on the ball carrier, who lost possession close to the Enniskillen line.
Enniskillen's much changed forward pack then started to click into gear and the new front row partnership of Paul Holder, Johnny Wright and Gareth "Shiner" Beatty started to put the home scrum under pressure, driving them back and spoiling possession. This, in turn, led to some excellent territorial possession in the latter stages of the first half, but try as they might Enniskillen could not get the equalising score.
Two great attacking lineouts were mauled forward, but the changes in the pack had caused the loss of some cohesion, and Ballymoney managed to stem the tide.
Richie Finlay, sporting a rather fetching pair of what could only be described as black 'tights' to keep his legs warm, started to work with the possession, probing at the Ballymoney backline.
Darren Cochrane was having an outstanding game in the centre position, but his muscle, and Finlay and Mattie Maguire's guile could not open up the defence before half-time.
Enniskillen finally got on the score sheet after five minutes of the second half when Finlay slotted over the first of his five penalties, as Enniskillen dominated the first half-an-hour of the second period.
Enniskillen's forwards continued to disrupt and hustle the home side with the back row of David Buchanan, Gary Hall and debutant Brian Annan all showing outstanding form. Unfortunately, Annan picked up an ankle injury and had to be replaced, but this only allowed Cochrane to move up from centre, where he showed his physicality off, roughing it with the big boys.
A further Ballymoney indiscretion after 12 minutes allowed Finlay to cut the lead to just one point, before he himself, with some neat interplay with Mattie Maguire set up the attack from which Enniskillen would take the lead after 14 minutes.
Enniskillen were in the ascendancy and Ballymoney's defence were struggling to cope with the runs of not only Enniskillen's much vaunted backline, but also those of the forwards, of which Richie Crawford was much to the fore. A cynical late hit on Chris Maguire, who had started to show his running prowess, brought another penalty, which Finlay converted to increase Enniskillen's lead to 12–7 entering the final quarter.
Ballymoney then rather gifted Enniskillen the score that extended the lead into the realms of two scores. Having once again been penalised for an infringement at the breakdown, something that was occurring too often, to the displeasure of the home supporters, Ballymoney then proceeded to make a real hash of things, when Finlay's missed penalty attempt from distance was knocked back into the field of play.
Enniskillen were there in numbers forcing another penalty just five metres out, which Finlay converted with ease.
Ballymoney were now forced to throw caution to the wind, but Enniskillen's defence was up to the task, and rarely gave the home side a sniff of the line in the closing ten minutes.
Cochrane after his move into the back row, continued to be a thorn in the side of Co. Antrim men and when Holder left the field, his replacement, yet another debutant, Felix Quigley, showed his power and strength, quickly moving rucks and mauls with big hits, and also stealing some precious ball in the process.
A good win for the Enniskillen men, and made all the better given the changes to the side, and the "tenderness" of some of those who did play. Apart from the win, the big pluses were the lack of any serious injuries sustained, and the performances of those who had made the step up from the second XV, and in Shiner's case, from schoolboy rugby.
Indeed, it was a proud day for schools and youth rugby in Fermanagh to see two schoolboys in Gareth and Chris Maguire turning out at 1st XV level.
Following this game, there will be some difficult selection decisions in the coming weeks, with skipper Willie Gibson to return, along with Stuart Bradshaw ready to play again after injury. Throw into the mix the missing "regular" front row of Gavin Warrington, Steve Welsh and Richard Beatty and there is sure to be some head scratching at selection meetings, and in the Beatty household.
Ballymoney once again proved that they will be a force to reckon with next season when they step up to section one, but before that there will be a stern test at Mullaghmeen in ten days' time, when they visit for the Powerade Town's Cup semi-final.
With their successful season to date, they have gelled into a tight unit and grown together as a team, and Enniskillen would be wise not to take them lightly or underestimate them in any way if they want to proceed beyond the semi-final stage.
