Skins Lose 17-10 in Ballyclare

Ballyclare v Enniskillen 15.2.19

Ballyclare 1XV 17
Enniskillen 1XV 10

Enniskilllen 1st XV travelled to Ballyclare last weekend for an important league clash between two of the top junior sides in the province, rather surprisingly given the stormy predictions for the day and the recent rainfall which had most scheduled games in the province cancelled. Skins took an early lead in challenging conditions with the wind at their backs against the the side who currently lead the table with Dromore on their heels, but lapsed slightly in the second half playing into a strong wind and a declining surface which gave the home side enough momentum to scrape a 17-10 victory.
An early close quarters score from Jamie Kelly had the visitors leading, but Ballyclare levelled the scoreline shortly afterwards before Skins regained the lead with a John Maguire penalty. Skins maintained their lead for most of the second half but errors and lack of territory had them concede two scores in the second half.
Enniskillen started with extreme intent and looked more at home than Ballyclare in the early exchanges, winning the physical battle and moving the ball well despite the weather, props Warrington and Beatty carrying hard in the narrow channels. The wind was well utilised by halfbacks Matty Dane, and Daire Hill debuting at out half, and soon Ballyclare were pinned back in their own half with some well placed kicks. Keeping 'Clare under pressure with some solid defence from the back row of Rutledge, Carleton and Lee, they were forced to attempt a poor clearance and Skins, running a solid lineout in tough conditions, built a maul through Gavin Parke and rumbled towards the try line, working infield through a series of pick and go's it was Jamie Kelly who crossed for a try next to the posts, converted by Maguire to go 0-7 up after 10 minutes.
The home side responded shortly afterwards as they worked their way into the Skins 22’ and retained ball well as they carried at the Skins defence, eventually finding a gap and crossing for a converted, score, levelling proceedings last 7-7.
Skins bounced back immediately through the boot of John Maguire following good pressure off the restart that forced a penalty from Ballyclare at the breakdown, regaining the lead at 7-10.
It was a back and forth affair for the rest of the half as both sides traded blows with neither defence really giving much away, the heavier ‘Clare pack were getting the ascendency in the scrum as the playing surface broke up and this added a fair bit of pressure to Enniskillen on occasion but they held their lead into the end of the half.
Things were trickier for Enniskillen in the second half as the rain eased but they were now playing into a strong wind with the ball caked in mud and traction minimal. The decision making and physicality from Enniskillen also lacked at times in the second half while small errors and a suffering scrum gave the home side too many opportunities. Determined defence maintained the Skins lead for the third quarter despite a a huge amount of time spent in their own half, centre pairing Finlay and Harte marshalling the defence well and the back three of Keys, O’Shea and John Maguire did well in nightmarish conditions, Maguire forced from the field in the third quarter with a nasty shoulder injury further disrupting Skins’ lineup.
Eventually there was a midfield break from Ballyclare and the ball was moved to the wing and, despite a dropped ball, the winger managed to kick ahead and touch down in the waterlogged corner of the field, the home side leading 12-10 with 10 minutes to go.
Ballyclare continued to use the wind well and soon Skins were back in their half once again, a pass that didn’t go to hand had the Enniskillen back three scrambling and an attempted clearance was blown dead by the strong wind, giving ‘Clare a scrum on the 5 metre, with the ensuing pick from the base getting over the line for Ballyclare’s third try, unconverted to go 17-10 up. Play continued from the restart but a kick to touch ended the contest as the full time whistle blew, a losing bonus point the only consolation for Enniskillen.
There were certainly positives for Enniskillen with some new combinations working well at times while the start from the visitors was impressively tenacious given the conditions and the long commute, factors that can often soften less seasoned sides. They will need that intensity, along with a more clinical 80 minutes, as they travel to Ballyclare yet again this weekend in the quarter-final of the Town’s Cup.