ALL IRELAND LEAGUE: UCD - 19 BALLYMENA - 31:At half-time at Belfield on Saturday, it appeared that UCD had finally hauled themselves back into this match after two Ballymena tries had left them trailing 12-0 after 14 minutes. A queasy start with a stiff, swirling wind helping more than hindering them, the students might feel miffed for playing their way back with their relentless, hard running and then letting it drop. But Ballymena were the more canny side on the day.
The winning points also lift the Ulster team out of relegation territory in only their third win in nine matches. That they did it with 14 men after Darrel O'Kane was red carded for punching after 33 minutes would have given even greater satisfaction.
But UCD will point to their indiscipline, or, impetuosity in the second half as an area of weakness. While the scoreline suggests a one-sided effort, the match was far from that and it was only a series of second-half penalties from Archie Kettyle that kept Ballymena in front.
While UCD fearlessly threw the ball around from all areas, Ballymena kept their heads, kicked their points and most importantly were able to turn over ball in their own 22, invariably for Ulster centre Adam Larkin to then launch a 50 metre kick and ask the students to do it all over again. Too often did UCD swarm up in numbers to the Ballymena line only for a rash offside, knock-on or other infringement to invite Larkin to employ his marvellous boot.
While UCD outhalf Eoghan Hickey proved his kicking was largely up to the conditions, his side did not earn one penalty in the first half when the wind was behind them, then struggled in the later stages when it gusted fiercely. That advantage for Ballymena always had UCD chasing and as the match advanced, their efforts became more frantic and the error count increased.
"The last 20 minutes it was always going be down to a penalty or an opportunistic try," said Larkin afterwards. "Both teams were prepared to throw it around, them more so, but we've five games left and hopefully that will be enough to keep us out of the relegation zone."
At full back, Scott Young also looked like a player for the future for Ballymena, a couple of misdirected kicks his only failing.
It was however the Ulster pack that won them the match. UCD were murdered up front with Ballymena's first two tries from prop Steve McConnell and hooker Richard Curnaghan coming from lineout drives which just flattened the UCD defence.
But UCD responded with typical vigour, Brian O'Riordan touching down a minute after O'Kane's dismissal and Stuart McCarron's try in the right corner coming after the entire back line had threaded the ball across the pitch.
Kettyle's boot allowed Ballymena to drift to 12-18 before UCD took the lead for the first time on 61 minutes after captain Shane Moore punched through on the left and the ball was again whisked right, Philip Bredin working hard for a delightful finish to make it 19-18.
But Kettyle was again at hand to make that lead short lived before a wind-taken kick from Hickey drifted wide on 66 minutes. UCD at that stage were making too many small errors to be truly menacing - and Ballymena centre Greg Mitchell finished off the match on the stroke of full-time with a try coming from a powerful drive. Larkin suitably added the veneer with a drop goal four minutes into injury time.
Scoring sequence: 2 mins: McConnell try, Kettyle con, 0-7; 14 mins: Curnaghan try, 0-12; 33 mins: O'Riordan try, Hickey con, 7-12; 39 mins: S McCarron try, 12-12. 45 mins: Kettyle pen, 12-15; 51 mins: A Kettyle pen, 12-18; 61 mins: Bredin try, Hickey con, 19-18; 62 mins: Kettyle pen, 19-21; 80 mins: Mitchell try, Kettyle con, 9-28; 84 mins: Larkin drop goal, 19-31.
UCD: D McKenna; S McCarron, M Colling, S Moore, P Hickey-Dwyer; E Hickey, B O'Riordan; M Moynagh, K Corrigan, J Montgomery, P Callanan, N Breslin, A Carroll, T Carter, P Shanley. Replacements: M Venter for Moynagh (31 mins), P Bredin for McCarron (40 mins), N Coughlan for Callanan (77 mins), C Keane for Shanley (79 mins).
BALLYMENA: S Young; H Swift, G Mitchell, P Rogers, A Maxwell; A Larkin, A Kettyle; S McConnell, R Curnaghan, B Young, P McBride, M McCullough, D Topping, J Taggert, D McCartney. Replacements: D O'Kane for Topping (31 mins), D Patrick for McCartney (70 mins), A Simpson for Taggert (75 mins).
Referee: S Flannery (Leinster)
