In a hotly contested clash in AIL Division 2A, Ballymena narrowly fell short against Old Crescent, despite a spirited late comeback.
Ballymena made a strong start, with Daniel Vercoe-Rogers crossing the line for the opening try after a sustained spell of pressure. Tristan Ferguson added the extras to give the home side a 7-0 lead.
Old Crescent replied quickly with a penalty after Ballymena were caught offside chasing a box kick. The Crescent full-back made no mistake from a difficult position, narrowing the gap to 7-3.
A costly error from Ballymena saw Old Crescent score their first try. A dropped high ball was scooped up by Crescent’s full-back, who ran in unchallenged to give the visitors a 10-7 advantage.
Ballymena responded well, with Ferguson landing a long-range penalty to tie the scores at 10-10 heading into halftime.
The second half started badly for Ballymena, as Old Crescent capitalised on some poor defence to score an early try. Moments later, a pre-planned Ballymena move was read perfectly by Crescent’s defence, leading to an intercept try that extended the visitors’ lead to 24-10. Another penalty for the visitors extended their lead to 17 points.
Despite the uphill battle, Ballymena showed resilience. A superb long pass from Ferguson found Dean Millar in space, and the winger finished clinically in the corner. Ferguson’s pinpoint conversion reduced the deficit to 27-17.
In the dying moments, Rodger McBurney crossed the whitewash to secure a crucial losing bonus point, with the final score reading 27-22 in favour of Old Crescent.
The result leaves Ballymena in 9th place, behind Navan, who they face in a pivotal fixture on February 22nd. With survival in Division 2A at stake, Ballymena will need to build on the positives from this performance to climb out of the relegation zone.
1-15
Callum Mustoe
Alexander Clarke
Joe Mawhinney
David Milford
Paddy Browne
Josh Dobbin
John Glass
Adam Lamont
Angus Robson
Tristan Ferguson
Michael McLean
Eoin Ritson
Daniel Vercoe-Rogers
Dean Millar
Rodger McBurney
Subs:
Josh Mark
George Hargy
Dom Gallagher
Daryl Marshall
Oliver Smith