City of Armagh Thirds continue to dominate Provincial League 2 with another hard fought bonus point win over a strong Banbridge Thirds at Rifle Park. Once again travelling with a weakened side the Armagh lads took the match to the opposition and controlled much of the play forcing Banbridge into a series of handling errors. It took some time for the “new look” Armagh side to get into their stride and it was captain Connor Simms who struck the first blow on 15 minutes with a well worked try under the Banbridge posts. Kyle Faloon added two points for a 7-0 lead. Armagh suffered from a lack of stability in the scrums but the second try followed some great handling from the Armagh back line which finished with winger Adam Magowan going across wide of the posts. Again Faloon added the points for a well deserved 14-0 halftime lead.
The second half started in a similar vein but with Robert Nichol coming into the front row for Paddy Chapman Armagh were able to control the scrums more effectively. The sides shared possession but it was Armagh that struck the first blow ten minutes in when an excellent penetrating run by James Morton at number 8 allowed him to feed the ball to Faloon for a well made try left of the posts. Faloon again added the points for 21-0. The bonus point was secured 20 minutes into the half following a midfield break when James Morton went over and Faloon added the two for a 28-0 lead. Scott Armstrong and Alex Starrett came on for Adam Magowan and Jonny Clarke who went off with a nasty gash to his forehead.
Armagh took their foot off the gas for a time and shipped two tries allowing Banbridge back into the game but although they never looked like losing there was some relief and a great deal of celebration when referee Richard Rainey blew the final whistle for a 28-14 win.
The Armagh side, Andrew Fletcher, Gareth Graham, Paddy Chapman, Ryan Morton, Jack Gilpin, Jonny Clarke, Connor Simms, James Morton, Trevor Girvan, Kyle Faloon, Adam Magowan, Matthew Steenson, Dan Reynolds, John Johnston, Scott Armstrong, Robert Nichol and Alex Starrett should be proud of this collective performance but need to eliminate the handling errors and keep better possession with a Crawford Cup second round tie against Coleraine seconds at home in two weeks time.