Match Report, Saturday 11 November 2017
Ulster Provincial League 3
Report by: Trevor Knipe
Ballymoney 2XV 36 vs 31 City of Armagh 3XV

It looked like business as usual when Glenn Faloon crossed the whitewash on a muddy Ballymoney pitch within two minutes, the conversion by Andrew Knipe . giving the Armagh lads a 7-0 lead. But this was soon neutralised by Ballymoney when their forwards gathered in the ball and pressed over under the posts for a converted try. Two further Armagh tries followed, a second from Faloon who penetrated the Ballymoney backline and one from Luke Crozier which started from an Armagh scrum. The conversion from Knipe struggled over hitting both the post and the bar.

The Ballymoney pack proved decisive and were lethal from 5metres out, controlling the ball and using the sticky conditions to unsettle the Armagh defence and scoring twice to go into the second half with a 21-19 lead.

The second half started as the first with a powerful run down the left wing by Ruari Karlsen resulting in a try for the bonus point. A penalty and another try by the Ballymoney pack followed but another breakaway converted try by Karlsen gave the City boys a two point lead going into the last five minutes.

Again it was the Ballymoney pack that kept control and although Armagh defended resolutely they could not hold out and a converted try meant that Ballymoney finished the match as worthy winners in a very tough encounter. 36-31
Despite this, their first defeat in the league, Armagh hold on to top spot in Provincial League 3 with a match in hand over second place Ballymoney 2’s. They will want to avenge this defeat when they take on the Ballymoney men in two weeks time at the Palace Grounds in the Crawford Plate and the following week in the league.

City of Armagh: N Lutton, J Rolston, A Fletcher, J Gilpin, C Olver, C Simms, J Clarke, D Bingham, T Girvan, G Faloon, A Knipe, L Crozier, A Brady, R Karlsen, H Boyd. Subs: M Allen, R Straghan, G Megaw
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City of Armagh RFC