Ophir 1st XV vs Ballyclare 3rd XV

Ophir 1st XV vs Ballyclare 3rd XV

On Saturday 30th September the Ophir lads welcomed their neighbours Ballyclare to Magowan Park. It has been a tough few weeks for the lads with 3 back to back defeats in the league. This was the week to put a big performance in for the home crowd.

The last few weeks has also seen numerous debuts for Ophir, and this week was no different as Darren Craig stepped up after impressing in training. John Doyle also received a call up from the 2nd’s to fill the other wing. Andy Rushton makes a possible final appearance in an Ophir shirt before heading back to New Zealand to take up a new role.

Andy Rushton kicked off in his normal fashion, allowing the Ophir pack to chase and put pressure on the receiver. Ballyclare seemed to hold well against the onslaught of Ophir tackles, lead by no other than Nigel Murray. The pressure paid off as Ballyclare were forced to kick for some territory. Mark Broadhurst, who was playing full back this week, was there to gather the ball but in the contact knocked it on. 

The first scrum of the match had Jonny McKinney, who was returning from injury, step in to hooker in place of Ricky Press. Ricky decided to take advantage of the returning Hooker to finally assume his coaching duties from the bench. The Ophir pack dominated the scrum but could not get the turnover, instead had to deal with Ballyclare’s centre pairing running right through the forever improving Ophir defence. Less than 10 minutes in and Ballyclare were on the scoreboard.

Ballyclare took control of the game and continued to pile on the pressure, driving through the centre and forcing Ophir to the back foot! Not even the scrambling defence lead by Alan Davison, could do enough to stop Ballyclare from crossing the try line again. 

Rallying the troops, Captain Chris Phillips lead the charge up the pitch, winning penalty after penalty which allowed Ben Lowry and Andy Rushton to kick Ophir into a great attacking platform. The Ophir lads knew they couldn’t leave without points, they used nearly everything in their arsenal until Chris Phillips crashed over the line to give the supporters something to cheer about.

Ricky Press took this chance to make the first sub of the match, bringing himself on for Jonny McKinney. Unfortunately the momentum that the try had brought was killed off quite quickly, with Ballyclare racing through for another 2 tries to extend their lead. Alex Mason with a great tackle, injured his shoulder at the same time and had to be substituted. Aaron McFaul took his place with Jamie Mawhinney moving to centre.

Half time: Ophir 5 vs 26

The Ophir lads really stepped up a gear in the second half. Ben Lowry played a massive part of the change of pace as he started to dictate the game with his range of passing. Soon enough Ricky Press scored from the base of a ruck to bring Ophir back into the game.

Now, Ophir are starting to show glimpses of how they can really play, with more dominance in both the scrum and also in the lineout. Michael Doyle showed us his skill and his sharpness in controlling the lineout. Ballyclare were forced to give away penalties under this pressure, this put the lads in another great scoring position. Ben Lowry put a ball to Chris Phillips face as he looked to crash over the line, the ball was ripped from the captain which sent the ball into the air. Not one to be denied a try, Chris Phillips jumped to claim the ball and touched it down for another score.

Whispers around the ground thought it was possible for a glorious comeback, until Ballyclare capitalised on Ophir falling asleep to score in the corner. This gave them some breathing room as the end of the game was closing in. With Ophir’s time running out, the lads were not going to give up. Challenging Ballyclare man for man with some great play up the right wing. Ben Lowry and Alan Davison teamed up to put Chris Phillips in some space. Chris took the opportunity to go one on one with the smallest player on the pitch, it didn’t end well for the winger.

With Ophir camped in Ballyclare’s 22, the lads could not find a way through the stubborn Ballyclare defence. The intensity could be felt all around the ground, one Ballyclare player felt jealous enough of Nigel’s glorious beard. He thought he would try and take it for himself. He then took the referee's penalty decision too far by verbally assaulting the referee. This easily resulted in a red card for the player and off he went for an early shower. Ophir with a renewed sense of determination, moved up another gear and this time Daniel McNeil went over the line from a pick and drive.

Last 5 minutes and the score is Ophir 26 - 31 Ballyclare, the atmosphere around the side was positive and hopeful. All the momentum was in the Ophir lads favour but unfortunately theym just could not keep possession long enough to mount a last attack to take the points home, it was Ballyclare who took the final points of the day. Ophir gave away a penalty in the last moments of the game which Ballyclare score. 

Final Score Ophir 26 - 34 Ballyclare.

Man of the Match: Ben Lowry