On Sunday, the Ballymena Senior Women headed to Ulster University Jordanstown to play Ophir in the first round of the Suzanne Fleming Cup. These two teams met each other in the Suzanne Fleming Shield final last year, and Ophir were determined to win on home soil.
Wet weather normally wouldn’t lend itself to expansive rugby, but that didn’t stop Ballymena from moving the ball from touchline to touchline throughout the early exchanges. The ball proved hard to hold on to, however, as both teams coughed up possession during this spell.
Ballymena were slow to properly get started, and Ophir came away with the first score. The conversion pinging in off the post to leave the score at 7-0 to Ophir.
The score would remain that way for the remainder of the first half. Ballymena, knowing they had some work to do, began the second half with a new-found energy, and eventually scored off a kick return. The score now 7-5.
The try invigorated the team even further, with Ballymena’s play shifting up another couple of gears, leading to the two decisive tries being scored late on. The final score 15-7.
Ballymena did well to stick together and come away with the win, and the cup run is now very much underway. The girls have a week off, their next fixture being Clogher Valley at home on Friday 8th November.