Ballymena made an impressive start to their All-Ireland League 2A campaign with a deserved 26–14 victory over Greystones at Eaton Park.
Captain Adam Lamont led the side from the back row, while Marcus Rea made his first AIL appearance of the season, returning to the competition after a number of years. Ballymena also retained a settled forward pack from last season.
There were three debutants in the backline, with Callum Florence, Ryan McDowell and James McMillan all making their first AIL appearances for the club. McMillan started at full-back and enjoyed an excellent afternoon with the boot, while Ben Moxham returned to the club to partner Florence in the centre. Timmy McNabney was also in line to make his AIL debut from the bench.
Ballymena dominated territory in the opening stages and deservedly opened the scoring after 16 minutes when McMillan converted a penalty.
The full-back then showed his range six minutes later, landing an excellent long-range penalty from just inside the Greystones half to extend the lead to 6–0.
Ballymena continued to apply pressure and were rewarded with their first try after 29 minutes. Following a sustained period of possession inside the Greystones 22, Robson released McClean, who ran a superb line to crash over under the posts. McMillan added the conversion to put the home side 13–0 ahead.
McMillan added another penalty before half-time to give Ballymena a commanding 16–0 advantage at the interval.
McMillan continued his excellent afternoon shortly after the restart, landing another long-range penalty after 47 minutes to extend the lead to 19–0.
Three minutes later, Ballymena struck again. Josh Drain intercepted a Greystones pass and raced in from around 40 metres, with McMillan adding the conversion to put the hosts 26–0 ahead.
Greystones responded with a period of sustained pressure and eventually got on the scoreboard after 60 minutes, Jack Barr finishing off some good phase play close to the Ballymena line. The conversion reduced the deficit to 26–7.
The visitors continued to press and were rewarded with a second try five minutes from time when Robert Brennan finished off a move which saw Greystones move the ball quickly across the width of the pitch. The conversion made it 26–14.
Ballymena held firm during the closing stages to secure an excellent opening-day victory and begin their AIL 2A campaign with four points.
It was a highly encouraging start for Ballymena, who showed plenty of quality during the opening hour before demonstrating the defensive resilience required to see out the game.
The squad now faces its first away trip of the campaign, travelling to Limerick next Saturday to take on UL Bohemians.
Team vs Greystones
1. Andrew Warwick
2. Alexander Clarke
3. Angus Graham
4. Paddy Browne
5. Luke McCluskey
6. Adam Lamont (C)
7. James McClean
8. Marcus Rea
9. Angus Robson
10. Josh Drain
11. Ryan McDowell
12. Callum Florence
13. Ben Moxham
14. Ben Neely
15. James McMillan
16. Matthew Wright
17. Timmy McNabney
18. David Milford
19. Callum Davidson
20. Callum Patterson
