Accies get their ‘reward’ with draw against in-form Ballyclare

A Fintan Lagan try late in the second half secured a hard-fought draw for Omagh Accies against Ballyclare at the Thomas Mellon Playing Fields.

Going into the game on the back of three successive defeats, including something of a capitulation against Belfast Harlequins last time out when they threw away a healthy lead, the Accies were determined to earn something against an in-form Clare side,who have been scoring for fun since joining the All-Ireland Leagues at the start of the season.

Going into the clash, the County Antrim side had amassed a points difference of plus 100 in just three games, while Omagh were on minus 51.

That gave a suggestion that a tough task lay ahead for Glenn Kyle’s men but it was one they met head on and captain Matthew Clyde feels he and his team-mates got their ‘reward in the end’.

“It was a good performance in a game that both teams cancelled each other out,” he observed. “The conditions in the second half were wild, with the rain and wind, which made it hard for both teams to hold onto the ball. There was a lot of defending done and we got our reward in the end.

“It was hard to hold onto the ball, particularly at the end when it was going back and forth, so it was about playing in the right areas. It was a tight game that could have gone either way.”

Ballyclare struck first in Omagh with Mathew McDowell converting Scott Martin’s try, but the Accies responded well with Jamie Sproule crossing the whitewash after several phases through the forwards. Scott Elliott converted to restore parity to the scoreline.

Buoyed by that score, Omagh then took the lead through Kiwi centre, Conor Spencer as they engineered a five point advantage, which wasn’t to last long as Joel McBride dotted down in the corner and McDowell converted to put the visitors into a narrow two point lead before the break.

After the restart, it was ‘Clare who extended their advantage when McBride grabbed his second try of the game, this time unconverted but as the conditions worsened it was Omagh who came to the fore and they secured a share of the spoils when Lagan touched down and Elliott converted to make it 19-19.

On the back of what has been a somewhat frustrating start to the season, Clyde is delighted that his team-mates earned something from the clash and he feels the performance and result against Ballyclare can only give them a boost ahead of their next fixture at second bottom Enniscorthy.

“I’m really pleased because you can never fault the attitude of the players,” he beamed. “It’s been really good and we’re starting to get a wee bit of belief now that if we can cut out a few mistakes and some of the penalties we’re conceding we can keep building , compete in this league and push on.

“All is positive and we’re just looking to build and keep improving on that. All the guys are going well and the performances are improving. Last week’s performance [against Harlequins] was there in the first half when we showed what we can do before we slipped off a bit but today [Saturday] we stuck at it and managed to fight our way back.”

ACCIES TEAM

D Braden, R Braden, S Creane, Ja Sproule, Jo Sproule, J Duff, S Wilson, M Clyde, F Lagan, S Elliott, M Eccles, C Spencer, J Kyle, B Henry, R Mitchell. Replacements: J Brolly, R Hemphill, C Huey, M Marcechaux, St Ballantine.