Ballymoney Chronicle - Sports - Toon 1st XV unlucky to lose out at Cooke

Sports

Toon 1st XV unlucky to lose out at Cooke

Thursday, 12 January 2012

Cooke 1st XV...15
Ballymoney 1st XV...................11
Ballymoney travelled to Kukri Qualifying Section One league contenders Cooke for the first game of 2012 in a close match, which the Toon men maybe deserved to win.
Kicking off down the hill with a small breeze on their back Ballymoney started at a good pace and limited the larger Cooke forwards from making ground. However the referee adjudged the Toon men to be too eager, which resulted in a number of early penalties going Cooke's way and they cleared their lines.
Pressure at the ruck resulted in Ballymoney being awarded a penalty after 15 minutes, which McCartney slotted over to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.
With play in the Cooke half, Ballymoney were penalised for coming in from the side of the ruck and without any warning to the team the referee produced a yellow card to the Ballymoney forward.
Cooke, with the numerical advantage, started to add some pressure and worked the ball from the lineout through the forwards to move up the pitch. The next 10 minutes they tried to breakdown the stubborn Ballymoney defence. On the 30 minute mark the Ballymoney second row was yellow carded for an infringement at the breakdown. Just as he came off the first forward sin binned returned to play but Ballymoney would now have to play 20 minutes with 14 men. Cooke opted for the scrum 5 metres out against the seven men of Ballymoney. The first scrum wheeled on the loose head side and again with a reset or warning the referee blew for a penalty try and gave Cooke an easy seven points much to the amusement of the travelling support.
The half ended with the score at 7-3 to Cooke but Ballymoney were now back to full strength and the visitors were starting to dominate the half with their more mobile forwards making good yards and McLaughlin, Henderson and Watson in the backline starting to break the line. This pressure was awarded with a penalty which McCartney pushed wide. However five minutes later he had another chance which he converted to make the score 7-6.
Cooke further extended their lead after a line-out move, off-loading out of the tackles and the final, and suspiciously forward, pass 10 metres out found the supporting player who forced his way over. The kick was missed so the score was now 12-6.
Ballymoney's forward again took the ball to the Cooke pack. After some quick thinking by captain Cleland he tapped a penalty on his 10 metre line and the young fast Toon back moved the ball to the Cooke 10 metre line. A crash ball by Platt supported by Hanna and Irvine carried the ball on toward the 22. A series of quick picks and barraging runs from the Ballymoney forwards controlled by scrum half Scott Nelson brought play right up to the Cooke line. As the forwards sucked in the Cooke pack Nelson pass out to outhalf Henderson, and he found space and through the dummy to cross the line for the try.