Dungannon 15 pts Ballymena 8 pts (Sunday Life)
Coach Jeremy Davidson was thrilled to bits at the finish, but understandably relieved.
"It was a very hard earned victory," he admitted.
"The great thing about this side is that they never give up and it says much for their character and resilience that in two tough games against Harlequins and now Ballymena they have come out on top.
"It was a game that could have gone either way. Conditions dictated that it would be a forward battle and thankfully we got there in the end.
"I was concerned at one stage that our discipline was going to let us down when we had two players yellow carded and this is something we have to eradicate from our game.
"We're very fortunate that the Ulster players who turn out for us are very much part of the club and the spirit in the squad is second to none."
Dungannon were good value for their victory, the dominant force up front for the greater part of the match while their opponents were a big disappointment.
It was no surprise that flanker Andy Graham scored Ballymena's only try seven minutes into the match for he was by some distance their best player and but for him they would have shipped a much heavier defeat.
Two scores, the second a Dirky Strydom penalty, is a dreadful indictment of sub standard performance.
Dungannon played a very basic game with few frills and it paid off. They never looked back from the moment they got to grips with the opposing pack leaving out-half Richard McCarter to do the rest.
Even the yellow carding of flanker Oisin Hennessy didn't deter them as McCarter landed two penalties either side of Ballymena prop Pat Steenkamp being yellow carded.
Strydom's penalty on the restart eased the visitors ahead, but it was a false dawn. McCarter landed three further penalties to secure victory despite the yellow carding of second row Ryan Caldwell.
DUNGANNON: N Patterson, M Scott, P Magee, G Telford, R Conway, R McCarter, D Spence, M Neilly, N Brady, D Fitzpatrick, M Rainey, R Caldwell, A Hughes, O Hennessy, S Lamb. Replacement: J Bell for G Telford
BALLYMENA: D Strydom, P Budina, J McGruggan, J Burgess, A Maxwell, S Young, D Drake, P Steenkamp, S Douglas, T Court, R Caldwell, B Young A Graham, G Moore, C Henry. Replacements: R Connor D Drake J Smith for J Burgess
REFEREE: M Kilgore (Ulster)
