BHSFP  30 v 29 Ballymoney

With the weather bright and sunny and conditions good underfoot High School welcomed League leaders Ballymoney to Greenisland for what both teams knew was going to be a crucial match in determining the direction of the second half of the season. Ballymoney travelled with an unbeaten record while High School had lost just the one game away against todays opposition and were sitting in second place having played a game less. The scene was set for a tight game. 

A late change to the High School team saw Davy Henry withdraw through an injury picked up at training on Thursday night. The second row vacancy was filled by Paul Shaw who was returning from injury himself. Otherwise the team remained unchanged from last weeks match against Ophir.      

The game started with Ballymoney putting the kick off directly into touch . High School stood firm in the resulting scrum and so it was all afternoon in that department. The first exchanges around the pitch were fairly even as the teams attempted to gain some dominance but it was High School who had the first scoring opportunity 4 minutes into the game when they were awarded a kickable penalty. The kick went wide and Ballymoney took advantage of the restart by immediately threatening the High School line. The tight Ballymoney eight took the play to the High School Five metre line for a line out . The resultant catch and drive ended in a converted try after 7 minutes of play.   

With Ballymoney slipping into an early lead the High School pack struck back taking play deep into the Ballymoney half. Strong driving runs by Stephen Morton , Andy “JIM” Morrison , and Paul Shaw were evident as the reward of a penalty came three minutes later . This time Tim Murphy slotted the ball over closing the gap to 4 points. 

The High School team at this stage were matching the opposition in every department and were clearly stronger in the back division which Ballymoney knew. Consequently they kept the ball tight with strong rolling mauls and some negative ball killing on the ground which the referee was to eventually pick up on. 

The game continued much in the same vein with both sides largely cancelling each other out up front. The High School backline were only getting occasional runs but when these occurred the Ballymoney defence was sound. On one occasion Neil Hastings almost got through on a strong run only to be stopped by the last man in defence. Unfortunately it was a lapse in concentration in the backs which allowed Ballymoney to stretch their lead further after 17 minutes of play. The ball was moved wide and the usually excellent High School midfield defence missed their man and the try was scored . The conversion was good and Ballymoney moved into a strong lead.

With their backs to the wall High School knew that they must not let Ballymoney stretch their lead further if they were to come out on top. For the next 20 minutes the game ebbed and flowed but it was High School who gradually took the upper hand in this period. Excellent work by the pack ensured that Ballymoney were contained in their own half for much of the time. The lineouts which had been a bit ropey to start with were functioning well and the front row of Taylor , McManus and Balmer were handling the opposition with consumate ease. 

Unfortunately for Ballymoney the Referee eventually had to deal with the ball killing and after 35 minutes of play the visiting number 8 was despatched to the bin for his sins. 

The High School side now had the bit between their teeth and could sense that Ballymoney were on the back foot. Good work in the middle of the pitch saw the ball move to Chris Kitchen who was a colossus in defence and attack all afternoon alongside Davy Mayne. Chris made a supberb break cutting the Ballymoney defence to shreds . When eventually stopped the ball was offloaded to Jordan Frampton who finished the move with a well taken try out wide. The important conversion was sweetly struck by Tim Murphy closing the gap to only 4 points at the half time break and putting High School very much back into the game.

HALF  TIME          BHSFP  10     V     14  BALLYMONEY     

As the second half got underway the High School team were clearly confident they could capitalise on a shaken Ballymoney side. Early pressure saw High School dominate the opening exchanges and were again rewarded with a penalty after 5 minutes of the half. The resultant kick by Tim Murphy was good and suddenly there was only one point in it . 

Not to be outdone Ballymoney came back at High School and secured a penalty for themselves increasing the gap to 4 points. 

Strong work by the High School forwards saw them continue to pressure Ballymoney and it was only some scrambling defence that saw the scoreline stay as it was for the next few minutes. Then came a killer blow from High School . A line out and resultant maul on the Ballymoney 22 eventually came back to captain Jonny Mayne who made a tremendous break cutting through the shocked Ballymoney defence to score an excellent typical scrum half try. The conversion was again good from Tim Murphy and for the first time in the match High School were in the lead much to the delight of the vociferous home support. 

High School were now in the driving seat as the previously confident Ballymoney team knew this was going to be no easy task. The game was now flowing well for High School through determination and the will to win. A further penalty opportunity was missed after 16 minutes of the half and as the game progressed into the final quarter the watching supporters knew this was going to the wire. 

High School knew the next points were going to be vital and that they must increase their 3 point lead. With the Ballymoney defence on the back foot the High School pack again camped inside the visiting 22 for lengthy periods of play. The pressure had to tell and the next points came to High School from a catch ,drive and typical Stephen Morton try. The try was converted by Tim Murphy and High School had moved into a ten point lead with 15 minutes left on the clock. The watching support sensed the game was now secure but Ballymoney are not the league leaders for nothing. With their unbeaten record now threatened they came back into the game through their forward pack who fought their way back into High School territory to score from a copy book catch and drive situation after 33 minutes of the half. The conversion was missed reducing the deficit to 5 points. 

This score seemed to rejuvenate a tired looking Ballymoney side and from the kick off they came back to score again with an excellent try made through slick handling in the backline. The conversion was successful from in front of the posts and Ballymoney had now taken the lead again by 2 points and 5 minutes left on the clock. 

Having worked so hard to get back into the match and with the rest of the season at stake High School were in no mood to call it a day at that stage. Each player stepped up to the mark and played out the last few minutes as if their lives depended on it and as far as the watching supporters were concerned they did !!. With nerves jangling and voices raised in support from the touchline the High School side drove deep into Ballymoney territory  to secure a further penalty opportunity with 2 minutes left on the clock . Tim Murphy who had kicked well all day stepped up for the most important kick of his season so far and with coolness slotted the ball between the sticks. One point ahead and injury time left. 

With the tension unbearable Ballymoney again came back and the script seemed to have a sting in the tail as the visitors were awarded a penalty virtually on the stroke of time . The Ballymoney kicker stepped up and as the crowd stood in respectful hushed silence he struck the ball well only to see it drop below the crossbar. The ball was fielded by Jonny Mayne who punted towards the touchline only to see the ball fielded and brought back by Ballymoney . The High School defence was solid though and as the attack was bundled into touch the referee blew the final whistle on what was a cracking game of rugby.

Labor Ipse Voluptas