Ballymena left it virtually to the death before dispatching a Lansdowne outfit that somehow managed to steal a one-point lead entering the final minutes at Lansdowne Road on Saturday.
For all their abundance of possession and territory the Ulstermen couldn't shake off their hosts and so it was left to 18-year-old Scott Young to score his second try with the last play of the game to seal a well-earned victory.
When Lansdowne's outhalf, David Quigley, had converted his own try on 76 minutes it looked as if Ballymena would for the second week in-a-row have victory snatched from their grasp. But with one last surge they drove into the Lansdowne 22. With an overlap out wide, outhalf Ajay Derwin chose to kick cross-field where Scott Young was waiting to cap off a fine performance his opposite number Gordan D'Arcy would do well to take note.
Their South African coach, Andre Bester, was somewhat displeased with his sides tendency to throw away good try scoring opportunities. "We threw a lot of tries away and during the match we created more opportunities than Lansdowne. You have to give Lansdowne's defence credit this year. It doesn't concede a lot of tries."
Lansdowne's coach Brian Allen was more then a little impressed with Ballymena's performance. "They dominated possession and used it well. I thought their patterns, their moves were executed well and they look a more professional outfit then we do."
The home side, despite being starved of the ball, took what chances that came their way, which didn't go unnoticed by the Australian. "We were a bit more clinical than they were. I was happy with the amount of time we had in scoring positions versus our conversion rate. It was very high."
Bester was high in praise for his two-try full back. "He's 18 and he's playing week in and week out in the AIL. It's a little bit upsetting to me that he can't get into the Irish Academy. We'll have to have a look at that."
Scoring sequence: 6 mins: Doak penalty, 0-3. 24 mins: Young try, Doak con, 0-10. 27 mins: Doak penalty, 0-13. 34 mins: Quigley penalty, 310. 40 mins: Woods try, Quigley con, 10-13. 46 mins: Quigley penalty, 13-13. 65 mins: Doak penalty, 13-16. 67 mins: Doak penalty, 13-19. 76 mins: Quigley try and con, 20-19. 79 mins: Young try, Doak con, 20-26.
Lansdowne: G D'Arcy; L O'Brien, G Hamilton, M Woods, R Niland; D Quigley, S Whelan; R Corrigan, O Ennis, E Bohan; B Cusack, G Quinn; S Rooney, C McEntee (capt), L Toland.
Ballymena: S Young; J Topping, S Stewart, R Botha, A Maxwell; A Derwin, N Doak; N McKernan, P Sheils, C Millar; C Beukes, G Longwell; D O'Kane, R Nelson, J Taggart. Replacements: S McDowell for Maxwell (47 mins), W McAllister for McKernan (65 mins), B Young for Millar (65), D Topping for O'Kane (68), P McBride for Beukes (77 mins).
Referee: A Rolland (IRFU)
