Ballymena win cup tie
Queens 14 Ballymena 29
Ulster Senior Cup Quarter Final
Fri 23rd Feb 2007
Ballymena travelled to the Dub, to take on Queens in the Quarter final of the Ulster Senior Cup.
In a closely fought match Ballymena eventually ran out winners by 29 points to 14.
This was a game that Ballymena were always going to win but the only question was by how many.
At the start of the match it was a bit scrappy with not much good rugby was played and the ball
was kicked from end to end with neither side gaining the initiative.
After about 10 minutes when it looked as though Ballymena were getting the upper hand Queens stole the ball in their own half and moved the it quickly through the backs. The left winger brushed aside Alan Smyth and made good ground before off-loading to Mark Robinson who scored below the posts leaving Ian Porter an easy conversion to give the home side a 7 points lead.
Ballymena went straight on the offensive but all their hard work came to nought when a series of good thrusts into the home 22 were always wasted by bad discipline which cost penalties at crucial times. The breakthrough came on 16 minutes when Ballymena took the ball off the top of a line-out and drove into the Queens' 22 after a few attempts at the home line Adrian Kirkpatrick was eventually driven over for a try but unfortunately Ballymena had no recognised kicker in the team so conversions were a problem.
Ballymena continued to dominate the first half but the score was kept down due to bad decisions and handling errors. They eventually took the lead 5 minutes before the interval when, after a period of sustained pressure, the ball broke to Scott Young who spotted a gap and showed his pace as he left the home defence for dead to score a try. Andrew Maxwell managed to add the conversion to give Ballymena a 5 points lead at the interval.
Ballymena continued to attack at the start of the second half and after a period of forwards dominance Stephen Douglas was driven over for a try. After this it was one way traffic and although the score did not reflect the true extent of Ballymena's dominance. Chris Henry scored another try which Chris Smith converted but Queens soon hit back with another try and conversion from Robinson and Porter. The scoring was wrapped up just before the final whistle with a Chris Smith try.
The Ballymena side was a mixture of youth and experience with established players like Andy Graham and Chris Henry showing their true worth to the side by leading from the front. This inspired young Willie McKay to join in and show that he too could carry the ball to the opposition and cause them problems. Jamie Smith started off quietly but then showed a willingness to join the line and made some good thrusts at the home defence. He was instrumental in setting up the final try. For the most part it was a good solid display from the team.
Ballymena: J Smith; A Smyth, J Semple (C Smith 60), J Burgess, A Maxwell; S Young, P Spence ( R Connor 75); A Kirkpatrick, S Douglas (M Harshaw 60), A Ferguson, I Caldwell, B Young, A Graham, W McKay (D Best 70), C Henry.
